Circles of Blood
by Riles
Summary: AU. Inuyasha and Miroku are sent to investigate a double homicide at the Higurashi mansion. After a CSI mess up and an entire college of suspects, however, they begin to realize that finding their murderer won't be easy.
1. The Dead and the Living

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. In fact, I don't own anything. So no one can sue me. Mwaha.

---

Detective Inuyasha Takahashi pulled the baseball cap down a little lower onto his head before stepping out of his black corvette, keeping his composure as the flashing lights flickered in and out of his vision. The flurry of movement going into the double doors told him to move ahead. He maneuvered through the small crowd that had gathered after hearing the sirens, avoiding any questions thrown at him. He ducked under the yellow tape and hustled up the short flight of stairs to the set of wooden doors where a man with dark hair pulled back into a small ponytail waited for him.

"Inuyasha," the man greeted, handing him a pair of latex gloves.

"What've we got, Miroku?" Inuyasha asked as he pulled them on. "Fluffy said a double homicide."

"That's all?" Miroku said as he led Inuyasha into the lavishly decorated mansion and toward the stairwell.

"And to get my ass over here," Inuyasha said as they quickly climbed the staircase.

"Two girls," Miroku said as he pulled Inuyasha to the right where several Crime Scene Investigators were darting from room to room. "Two very pretty girls in fact. I was astounded at how—"

In a louder voice than normal, Inuyasha said, "Have you been raping corpses again, Miroku?"

Miroku laughed at the many heads that turned. "Now, now, you mustn't spread my naughty little secret!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and took the first left on his own accord. He and Miroku stood at the door and watched as CSI processed the room. They were looking at a delicately adorned bathroom in a light blue with accented white, dressed in glossy tile and smooth marble. On top of the sink, random items of unimportance were cluttered wherever they could be fitted, and an open cabinet over the toilet showed tampons, razors, and the like unceremoniously strewn about. Soft carpet and silver fixtures would have made the bathroom seem elegant if it weren't for the thin layer of red water at the bottom of the bathtub. A young woman was placed neatly inside, her hands at her side and her head resting gently on her shoulder.

"Cause of death?" Inuyasha said, emotionless as he looked at the corpse.

"Gunshot wound to the head," Miroku said. "Approximated death time is one to three hours ago."

"Name?"

"Arisa Higurashi," Miroku said. "Sole proprietor of this manor. Her father, Ginta Higurashi, recently passed away of a heart attack. Two children: Sota and Kagome. Sota is currently missing, and you're about to meet Kagome."

"That sounds good," Inuyasha commented sarcastically as he and Miroku returned to the hallway and went on to the next door. Again on their left, they entered what was clearly a girl's room. The pink bed was neatly made, accented with a few fluffy pillows. A desk stood in the far corner, a few stacks of papers unceremoniously on top. A dresser to match the bed was next to this, littered with perfumes, make-up, and a hairbrush that didn't hide how frequently it was used. It was in the space between the dresser and the bed that the CSI were clustered.

"Kagome Higurashi," Miroku said. "Senior in college completing a degree in law. Straight A student and aspiring lawyer before a bullet went through her head. Kagome had been dead no more than half an hour when we got here, likely even less than that. Someone had dialed 911 on her cell phone, so some men came to check it out. They ended up breaking in because things didn't look right, and then found these two."

Inuyasha tried to peer around the huddle of men and women. "So just where is Kagome Higurashi?"

"Hmm?" Miroku said, now trying to see past the CSI himself. His eyes widened. "She was just here a few minutes ago."

"Her body was moved to the ambulance already," came a female voice behind them. "They wanted a better look at the blood spatter and her cell phone. Her body was in the way."

Inuyasha and Miroku turned. Miroku smiled charmingly. "And you are?"

"Kagura Kouji," the dark-haired woman said, fixing the bun her hair was in. "CSI. You two aren't supposed to be here."

"Ms. Kouji, I am Miroku Watase of the FBI, and this is Detective Inuyasha Takahashi. We're both working this case."

"I don't care," Kagura said. "We haven't cleared this scene yet."

"Then maybe we can help," Miroku said, not noticing that his companion was staring intently at the crime scene again. "Both of us trained to be CSI, just instead chose the FBI."

"Are you CSI?" Kagura said.

"No," Miroku admitted slowly.

"Then get out."

"But—"

"C'mon, Miroku," Inuyasha said, nodding away from the room. "Let's just wait until they're finished. We'll be back here soon enough."

Miroku looked highly surprised at Inuyasha's actions, but mutely obeyed. Inuyasha was his superior, after all. Inuyasha led his friend through the hallway, down the stairs, and outside once more before he spoke again. Miroku was anxiously expecting an explanation.

"We _will_ be back there soon," Inuyasha said. "I want to see this Kagome girl."

As he spoke, however, the ambulance was pulling out of the driveway.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha said in an annoyed tone as he noticed the movement of the vehicle. "Where do they think they're going? Yo, girl! Yeah, you! Get your ass over here!"

The girl Inuyasha was so kindly yelling at had long silver hair, obviously dyed, and startling turquoise eyes. They were, however, cold as they gazed upon Inuyasha. "And just who are you?"

"Inuyasha Takahashi. I'm overseeing this case. Where the hell is that ambulance going?"  
The girl shrugged. "To Touran, probably. That's where they always go."

Inuyasha and Miroku both knew the name Touran. Touran Kugyo was a coroner, and a very good one at that. She was an anatomical expert, and along with her three siblings, was a part of one of the greatest criminology families around. The woman knew what she was doing, Inuyasha gave her that much, but he had several cases that suggested she gave out the wrong diagnosis on purpose because some money exchanged hands. Since this theory began forming in his brain, Inuyasha had always made a point of double-checking her work. He hadn't caught her wrong yet, but he was waiting for the day he did.

"Who the hell said the bodies were ready to be taken away? One of them is _still inside_! I didn't authorize this!"

"No," said a dangerous voice behind them, "I did."

Inuyasha and Miroku turned with scornful looks on their faces. "Naraku."

"Inuyasha and Miroku," Naraku greeted with a smirk. "A pleasure, though I am insulted at the incompetence you pin against me. As if I would leave one of the bodies behind. It was just loaded into the ambulance, and as soon as that was done, there was no reason for them to remain."

"I didn't give you permission to do that!" Inuyasha growled. "I hadn't seen the body of the Kagome girl and you sent her away! You don't have the authority to do that!"

"I am the CSI supervisor here," Naraku said. "I have climbed up the ranks, or didn't you know? Those bodies were under my jurisdiction, and I saw it fit to have them taken to the coroner."

"Yeah, well _I_ am the _case_ supervisor and I didn't give anyone permission to move those bodies from their original locations!"

"Forgive me," Naraku said. "I wasn't aware of your arrival. I don't expect people in such high positions to be late, you see, so I assumed you had more important things to take care of." His eyes flashed. "Women, I presumed."

Inuyasha's face grew heated. "Don't even start, you bastard! I don't care that I wasn't here; those bodies were not yours to move. If I didn't show up all damn night, I'd have expected those corpses to be in the exact same place they were found in! He put _me_ in charge of this case, not _you_."

"Ah, yes," Naraku said, flipping his long hair behind his back. "Playing favorites with his family, I see."

"The hell he is!"

"Inuyasha!" Miroku said, grabbing his friend's arm in a rough manner to prevent Inuyasha from doing anything he would regret. "Stay calm. We're all on the same side here, remember?"

Inuyasha's glare didn't decrease in the slightest, though Naraku took this as his cue to go. "The crime scene has been cleared, Inuyasha. You're free to go destroy it now."

Miroku squeezed Inuyasha's arm rather painfully to remind him to keep his mouth shut. In an effort to do so, Inuyasha's teeth barred into his tongue like razors, and the iron taste of blood slithered over his taste buds. His eyes flashed as Naraku turned out of his vision, and his gaze turned back to Miroku.

"One of these days, I'm going to smash that man's head into a brick wall and claim it was an accident."

"Somehow I don't doubt that," Miroku said. "You could even frame it as murder. You're a detective, so you know all the back roads, what can't be traced. The murderer would never be found. And what irony if you were working the case!"

"You know," Inuyasha said maniacally, though he gave the appearance of giving Miroku's words some thought, "I just might do that."

"What now?" Miroku smiled, though quickly grew serious again.

Again Inuyasha seemed to be giving Miroku's words some thought, an uncommon act in itself. "Let's go back in the house. I want to go over those rooms again."

Miroku followed Inuyasha through the route they had just come, into the house, up the stairs, and down the hallway. Their first pause was at the bathroom, where just as Naraku said, Arisa Higurashi was no more. The bathtub was still coated with her blood, and the bathroom still otherwise looking magnificent in it's eloquent blue. The two remained here for only a moment in silence before Inuyasha turned back into the hallway again and then walked over to what was presumably Kagome's room. Now that the CSI were cleared out of it, he gleaned a better image of the crime scene. The puddle of blood wasn't very extensive, supporting the idea that Kagome hadn't been dead long before she was found. Her cell phone was missing, likely taken by Naraku for prints. Other than that, the room seemed orderly.

Inuyasha sat down on Kagome's bed and stared blankly at the room.

"What're you thinking?" Miroku said, taking the space next to Inuyasha.

"The bathroom," Inuyasha said. "The body and the blood were there, but there was no bullet hole or any blood spatter. If that was our real crime scene, we should find both of those."

Miroku nodded in understanding. "Arisa wasn't killed in that bathroom."

"And this room," Inuyasha said, looking around it again. "The only thing wrong with it is the blood on the floor. Everything else looks completely undisturbed."

"Kagome was killed here either?"

Inuyasha leaned back on his arms, his eyes now fixed on the door. "No, I think she was. I'm saying that whoever murdered Kagome knew her. There's no sign of a struggle, meaning Kagome wasn't worried that the murderer was in her bedroom."

"Unless the murderer _wasn't_ in her bedroom," Miroku pointed out. "He could have just opened the door, saw her, and shot her."

Inuyasha gave an aggravated sigh. "What do we know about the situations of these two? Anything yet?"

"Lemme check," Miroku said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his cell phone. Pushing a number from speed dial and then another to put the call on speaker, he laid the phone on the bed. Inuyasha stood up and began surveying the room again from different angles as he listened to the phone ring.

_"Kyokutou,"_ came the voice from the black device.

"Hachi," Miroku said, "what have you found out about the Higurashis?"

_"Oh, Miroku,"_ the man called Hachi Kyokutou said. _"Nothing much yet. Arisa clocked into her job at the Bank of America at 7:03 this morning and clocked back out at 3:56. I checked with American Express and found she used her credit card at 4:28 at Publix. As for Kagome, she showed up at Shikon University and went to all of her classes."_

"That's all?" Miroku said.

_"I've only had time to get the official stuff. If you want more, go interview someone."_

"Yeah, thanks," Miroku said. He sighed and turned to face Inuyasha. "That wasn't quite what I was hoping for."

Inuyasha, however, was paying Miroku no attention. He had frozen where he stood and was staring intently at Kagome's wall. Miroku looked at Inuyasha in confusion, not sure what had stolen Inuyasha's attention.

"What is it?"

"Shh!" Inuyasha growled. "Do you hear that?"

Miroku became silent and listened. At first, Miroku didn't understand what had ensnared Inuyasha. The house was silent, except for the static sound that silence itself gave off. Then his eyes widened as he realized that that wasn't the static of silence, but the nearly inaudible static of a television turned on but muted.

"A television," Miroku said.

Inuyasha didn't answer, but instead crept over to Kagome's door, as though if he made a noise the television would turn itself off and never be heard from again. Miroku followed him as he slipped out the door and looked up and down the hallway for a moment. To their left, the last door down the hallway was slightly ajar. Placing the noise as coming from there, Inuyasha and Miroku silently made their way over to it, walking against the wall.

Inuyasha couldn't explain the eerie feeling he was getting, as though this were a horror movie and the killer was about to jump out at him. As this thought came into his mind, however, he refused to take a chance. Just as silently as he made it to the door, he reached behind him and took a revolver from its holster. Miroku followed Inuyasha's lead and shared a look with him. The superior began mouthing numbers, and when his lips formed the word "three", both he and Miroku bashed open the door, guns raised, peering into the unlit room for any reason to fire.

There was none. After a moment, Miroku, who was closest to the light switch, flipped it on. The television was in the right corner of the room, frozen on an image of Dakota Fanning in tears. A couch and two chairs made a semicircle around it, though all were empty. In another corner, a computer was displaying its screensaver. On the left wall was a long bookcase full of movies, videos, games, and PC software all mixed together.

Inuyasha walked over to the corner with the furniture and television and surveyed the area. "Sodas and snack foods, a textbook, a novel, _War of the Worlds_ DVD case, and a Playstation. Looks normal enough."

"_Romeo and Juliet_, _A Walk to Remember_, _The Forgotten_, _Charlie's Angels_, _Dr. Dolittle_, X_-Men_, _Harry Potter_, _Lord of the Rings_, all for different things. Quite the odd assortment of entertainment choices, but whatever suits her fancy. _Charlie's Angels_ was a good one."

"Lecher," Inuyasha commented as he made his way over to the computer. He moved the mouse to remove the screensaver, and it was replaced by the desktop. The wallpaper was a photograph of two very pretty girls, one with long black hair lying against her back and the other with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail. Both were laughing and waving at the camera, and the girl with brown hair unknowingly had bunny ears atop her head. In the background, a boy who also had long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, staring intently at the two girls with a small smile on his face. "Our first priority is to find out who the two girls in this picture are."

Miroku looked over to the desktop and scrunched his eyebrows together. He moved behind the chair Inuyasha had taken a seat in and stared at the photograph for several moments. "Yeah, I'm sure of it. The girl with the black hair is Kagome Higurashi."

Inuyasha looked closely at the girl, memorizing every inch of her. This was the victim he hadn't seen, and yet he felt like he had seen her. The girl's resemblance to Kikyo was uncanny. After Inuyasha felt certain he wouldn't forget the girl's appearance, he began to study the brunette next to her. "I don't suppose you know this girl?"

Miroku shook his head. "No. Too young to be the girl's mother, and much prettier. Not to say Arisa wasn't pretty, but this maiden's beauty stretches far beyond the reach of English literature."

"That was almost poetic," Inuyasha commented dryly. His gaze moved back to the figure leaning against the wall. "And this man. We need to find out who he is too. And who took this picture, where it's at, when it was taken. Now that Naraku's gone, I want this whole place—"

Inuyasha was interrupted by his own cell phone. Miroku nodded in understanding of what Inuyasha was going to say—strip the house and find everything of note that Naraku hadn't taken. Inuyasha got up from the chair and Miroku took his place, opening up the internet. Inuyasha flipped open his cell phone and put it to his ear.

"Takahashi."

_"Sesshomaru said you were in charge!"_

Inuyasha recognized the tone instantly as Touran Kugyo's, the coroner. "Yeah. Why do you sound so pissed off?"

_"What IDIOT diagnosed the bodies?"_

"I don't know; I came late. What the hell is going on?"

_"I'll tell you what the hell is going on! Some idiot under your command decided that just because a body wasn't moving, it was deceased! You've really screwed up this time, Takahashi! Someone in CSI is a complete moron, and there's going to be hell to pay for this one!"_

"Touran, you stupid wench, what the hell are you talking about?"

The voice over the phone growled in frustration at Inuyasha's lack of comprehension. _"Someone had better get fired, Takahashi, because Kagome Higurashi is alive!"_

---

A/N:

I was having a CSI marathon because I just got into the show and taped a gazillion episodes. So I was thinking and came up with this idea. I don't know CSI well enough to make it a CSI fic, so here comes Detective Takahashi! I've been trying to get a good Inuyasha fic going for a while now… I don't like the way mine turn out. They start off on the right track, but then it just dies. Hopefully this one won't…

Next chapter Inuyasha's going to get himself into a lot of trouble when he meets Onigumo Tsuzitani, his first suspect, and Kaede Arakawa. And Inuyasha is taken by surprise when he discovers that his almost-victim knows Kikyo, but how?

Thankx for reading, but since you've bothered to read it, take a moment (or several, since long reviews rock) to review it and tell me your opinions. Thankx again!

Riles


	2. Siblings

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. In fact, I don't own anything. So no one can sue me. Mwaha.

---

Miroku sat beside the hospital bed, watching the unconscious girl slowly breathe in and out. Her head had been bandaged after the bullet was removed. She had been a lucky one for the most part. The problem was that Kagome had brain damage, and her body had forced itself into a coma.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT, SESSHOMARU!" Inuyasha shouted. "WHO THE HELL AM I BOTHERING, WENCH? EVERYONE DOWN HERE IS IN A COMA!"

Inuyasha was quite talented, Miroku had to admit. His ability to carry on an argument with his superior and the nurse was admirable. It required a lot of thought process, and Miroku knew better than anyone how Inuyasha hated thinking. He preferred to act on instinct, something he was very good at. At the moment, he seemed to be doing both. Commendable as it was to argue with two people at once, it was a stupid idea to backtalk one's superior. Then again, this had always been the relationship between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.

"NO, YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO THAT NARAKU IS BEHIND THIS SCREW UP! WELL, WHEN THE VISITORS COMPLAIN, TELL THEM TO SHOVE IT RIGHT BACK UP THEIR ASS!"

Inuyasha was going to get in trouble, and then Miroku would be left alone with the pretty young Kagome. What a fate.

"YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF NARAKU, SO DO SOMETHING! HE ANSWERS TO YOU! YOU CAN FIRE HIM, SESSHOMARU, SO DO IT! WELL, THE SECURITY CAN SHOVE IT UP THEIR ASSES TOO!"

It was only when Inuyasha was really upset that he called Sesshomaru by his real name. Usually preferred the name "Fluffy", even to Sesshomaru's face. When his anger reached its height, however, the petty nicknames were abandoned. Inuyasha also, though Miroku knew not how it was possible, shouted louder than he usually did when seriously angered.

"TOURAN'S DEMANDING I FIRE SOMEONE, SO NOW I'M DEMANDING IT FROM YOU, AND IT BETTER BE NARAKU! IT TAKES REAL TALENT TO SAY A LIVING GIRL'S DEAD, AND—WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Miroku couldn't help but smile knowingly as he listened, though all he could pick up were Inuyasha's angry shouts.

"I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE, SO YOU—YOU GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME, DAMMIT! I SAID I WASN'T LEAVING, AND I DAMN WELL AM NOT GOING ANY—_GIVE ME THAT PHONE!_ GET AWAY FROM ME AND—YOU _IDIOT!_ YOU JUST HUNG UP ON SESSHOMARU! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW IF HE'S GONNA FIRE NARAKU NOW? GET AWAY FROM ME, DAMMIT!"

The security must have successfully apprehended Inuyasha because his voice grew continually fainter until Miroku could no longer hear him. He contemplated for several minutes remaining with the girl—he would hate for any harm to come to her—but then his cell phone rang. He recognized the number instantly and couldn't hold back his smile as he answered.

"Watase."

_"Yeah, yeah, just get your ass down here,"_ came Inuyasha's annoyed tone.

"You sound so much better," Miroku commented.

_"Hurry up,"_ Inuyasha said. _"Classes start in an hour at Shikon University, and I'm betting we'll find that brunette in one of Kagome's classes."_

---

"Yes, yes," said the bubbly man. Inuyasha tried not to act repulsed. "Kagome Higurashi is in my debate class. Such a bright girl; she always wins our debates. Very clever, she's such a pleasure to have. I am her debate teacher, Mr. Takeda Nobunaga. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Jealousy of her intelligence could be a motive," Miroku murmured. People had killed for stupider things.

"And she was here yesterday?" Inuyasha asked.

"Oh, yes," Nobunaga said. "She won our debate, too. So very clever. She trapped Mr. Tsuzitani in two minutes and won!"

"Tsuzitani?" Inuyasha and Miroku asked simultaneously.

"Yes, Onigumo Tsuzitani," Nobunaga said. "Are you familiar with him?"

"We're familiar with his criminal record," Inuyasha said, "and his brother."

"Naraku? Oh, then you must be with CSI! Onigumo thinks very highly of his brother."

"I'll bet he does," Inuyasha said.

"Would you mind if we borrowed Onigumo for a few minutes when he comes in?" Miroku asked.

"Not at all!" Nobunaga said. "Second best debater in our class, next to Miss Higurashi, so he should have no trouble picking up what he misses."

Miroku thanked the man and followed Inuyasha to the door where they kept an eye out for Onigumo.

"Second best," Miroku said. "If Kagome were to suddenly turn up dead, Onigumo would be number one. And debate is a hard way to go down, especially when his brother is known for talking his way out of anything."

"I imagine they've exchanged some pointers," Inuyasha said. "Best way to win a debate, best way to kill a competitor—you know, whatever came up."

"You really ought to get some evidence on Naraku before you openly accuse him in public," Miroku said.

"I don't need evidence. It's enough to know he did it," Inuyasha said, eyes scanning the on comers. "There!"

The boy was walking by himself, cold eyes fixed on the door. His resemblance to Naraku was unmistakable. His gaze didn't waver until Inuyasha grabbed his arm to stop him from going inside.

"Onigumo Tsuzitani?"

The boy stared coldly at Inuyasha, which Inuyasha took to be a "yes".

"Come with us."

Inuyasha had no idea where he was leading Miroku and Onigumo. They traveled down several hallways with Inuyasha inconspicuously peering through windows to find an empty classroom. The first time he thought he'd found one, he made quite a display of his entrance only to find that the class was watching a movie. Therefore he made much less of a show when he walked into the second dark classroom.

"All right," Inuyasha said, "when was the last time you saw Kagome Higurashi?"

"In Government," Onigumo said indifferently. "That's the last class I have with her."

"So you have no idea where she went after classes or who she might have been with?"

Onigumo shrugged. "She's always around Sango Natsuki. Ask her."

"Who else does Kagome spend a lot of time with?" Miroku asked, taking note of the name.

"Kouga Nagashima, Akitoki Hojo, Yuka Kirihara, Eri Suou, Ayumi Kusakabe, Hakkaku Aogiri, Ginta Kotani, Ayame Wakinosa. They're a weird group."

"How about enemies?" Inuyasha asked. "Know any enemies Kagome might have?"

Onigumo's eyes flashed. "No."

"You can't think of any enemies?" Miroku said.

"Sorry," Onigumo said, not sounding very sorry at all. "No one comes to mind."

"And you're sure Government was the last time you saw Kagome?" Miroku said.

Onigumo nodded in an annoyed way.

"Then you wouldn't have any idea where Kagome is now or what's happened to her?" Inuyasha probed.

"Don't be stupid," Onigumo said. "Of course I do. Naraku worked on her case, dolt."

"Naraku shouldn't be telling you anything about his work," Inuyasha said triumphantly. "That's confidential!"

"Well now I know what's happened to her, since you confirmed Naraku was there. Thanks." Onigumo turned away and toward the door. "I have to get back to class. Nice chatting with you."

Inuyasha looked at Miroku as the door shut. "Who is it we're looking for first?"

Miroku scrolled down his notes. "Sango Natsuki."

---

"Noon?" Inuyasha snapped. He gave an angry sigh and looked at Miroku. "I need coffee."

Miroku laughed and set down his notes on the counter. "Done."

As his friend left to get coffee, Inuyasha stole a glance at his companion's notes. "When's Kouga Nagashima's first class? It had better be before noon!"

The student administrator was a kind but ancient-looking woman that had the distinguished air of living a thousand more years than Inuyasha could ever hope to live. She was protective of the student profiles, and it taken a lot to convince her to share the student schedules with them. It had taken even more to find out her name—the only reason they knew it was because Miroku spotted her nametag.

"Kouga Nagashima has his first class at eight," Kaede Arakawa said after she searched for his schedule on her computer. "Psychology with Mr. Totosai Wakamiya."

Inuyasha scribbled the time and class down next to the name. "Akitoki Hojo."

"He is currently in English with Miss Kanna Kouji."

"Great. Yuka Kirihara."

"Debate with Mr. Takeda Nobunaga."

Inuyasha growled. They'd missed her. "What's her next class?"

Kaede looked up at Inuyasha from her computer. "Should I just print out the student's schedules that you want?"

"Sure," Inuyasha said snappishly, annoyed that he hadn't thought of this first. "I need Kouga Nagashima, Akitoki Hojo, Yuka Kirihara, Eri Suou, Ayumi Kusakabe, Hakkaku Aogiri, Ginta Kotani, and Ayame Wakinosa."

Kaede continued to stare at him. "You expect an old woman like me to remember all of that? Give me your list."

As Kaede reached out for it, Inuyasha snatched it back. "You can't have it! This is confidential information!"

"The names of a few students at Shikon University are confidential?"

"Yes!" Inuyasha said. He paused, rethinking what he had just said. "No! It's what _else_ is on here that's confidential, stupid hag."

Kaede rolled her eyes. "You're a pleasant one." She reached for something on either side of her and then handed a pad of paper and a pen across the counter. "Then write the names down that I need to know and I won't have to see your _confidential information_."

"Don't mock me, old woman," Inuyasha snarled, beginning to write down the names.

Kaede had opened her mouth to speak, but the phone rang at that precise moment. She picked it up and, with a tone that showed she had done it a thousand times, said, "Kaede Arakawa, student administrator at Shikon University, speaking. How may I help you?"

Inuyasha couldn't hear the person on the other line, but he noticed Kaede's expression changes even as he wrote. In fact, her expression changed so many times that he stopped concentrating on what he was writing just to watch her. She seemed to be in robotic mode when she answered the telephone, then went to surprise, then to contentment, then to shock (which was different from surprise because shock was some kind of bad surprise), and then there was silence.

Kaede's mouth was slightly open, and after a moment of gaining control of herself, she glanced up at Inuyasha warily and said into the phone, "Kikyo, how did you come across this information?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened. _Kikyo…?_

Kaede again looked cautiously at Inuyasha. "Yes… Kagome is dead."

With catlike reflexes, Inuyasha snatched the phone away and jammed it to his ear. "Kikyo?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

_"Inuyasha?"_

"Kikyo!" Inuyasha said. "What are you calling here for?"

There was another pause.

_"I wanted to see if it was true that Kagome Higurashi was dead,"_ Kikyo Mashima said.

"Who told you she was dead?"

Another pause.

"_Kikyo, who told you?_" Inuyasha pressed.

Another pause, and then an intake of breath.

_"A policeman. I went to Kagome's house this morning and there was police tape everywhere. A policeman wouldn't allow me inside and told me there had been a double homicide. There are only two people who live in that house. Is Aunt Arisa dead too?"_

Inuyasha did a double take. "Aunt?"

_"Kagome Higurashi is my cousin."_

So it was true: you did learn new things every day. "Kikyo…" Inuyasha said, pausing as he let out his breath, unsure how to continue. "Yeah, Arisa Higurashi is dead. Kagome isn't, though. That policeman was wrong. Kagome survived."

There was another pause.

"Kikyo?"

There was a weak laugh at the other end of the line. _"She's okay. Kagome survived. She's all right!"_

Inuyasha slowly smiled. "Yeah."

_"Where is she?"_

"At FSH," Inuyasha said, referencing the Four Souls Hospital. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should tell her Kagome's condition, but couldn't bring himself to destroy the relief that had come over his girlfriend. Instead he said, "Hey, I'll come by your place tonight, all right? Around eightish?"

_"Good,"_ Kikyo said. _"I can't wait to see you."_

"Me too," Inuyasha said. "Bye, Kikyo."

_"Goodbye."_

Inuyasha handed Kaede the phone. She quickly put the phone to her ear, but silence on the other end indicated Kikyo had already hung up. Kaede did the same.

"What was that about?" Kaede said.

"Why was Kikyo calling an old hag like you?" Inuyasha asked.

Kaede looked affronted. "I am Kikyo's older sister! Who are you?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened. Kikyo never mentioned a cousin or a sister. Then again, she didn't like to do much talking. "I'm her boyfriend."

It was Kaede's turn to be surprised. Her eyes grew to the size of plates, and then in an instant narrowed into slits. "I don't like you."

Inuyasha found his attitude again. "Good, 'cause I don't like you either, old woman!"

"If you lay a hand on my sister—"

"COFFEE!" Miroku said exuberantly as he walked through the door. "I even took the liberty of getting Miss Arakawa one."

It took Kaede a moment to revert from her lethal demeanor, but after a moment she smiled at Miroku. "Ah, thank you. You seem much more suitable than this buffoon who tags along with you."

Inuyasha's vein pulsed. "_Suitable for what?_ And I don't tag along with _him_!"

"Be quiet," Kaede said dismissively, taking the coffee Miroku offered. "Thank you very much, Mr…?"

"Please, call me Miroku," Miroku said charmingly.

"Miroku," Kaede said, smiling all the more. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And to you, Miss Arakawa," Miroku said. His next question seemed to be directed at either of the two. "Have we got our schedules yet?"

"I was just getting on that," Kaede said. She snatched the paper away from Inuyasha, who had forgotten to hand it to her when he finished writing. After one glance at it, she glared at Inuyasha. "Come now, how am I supposed to read this? Can't you do _anything_ right?"

"It looks as though you two have gotten along well," Miroku said with a smile. "Here, give me the list, Miss Arakawa, and I will rewrite it for you."

"Oh, such a kind young man," Kaede said, "unlike _some_ people."

"All right, hag, if you're going to keep talking this bullshit, I'm—!"

"Inuyasha," Miroku chastised as he revised Inuyasha's work, "you mustn't use such language in front of a lady."

It was clear that Kaede could not have adored Miroku more.

"Shut up!" Inuyasha snapped. "If I wanted _your_ opinion, I'd have asked for it!"

"Except that you don't ask for anything," Miroku said. "You either demand it or don't say anything, so I have to speak up for myself all the time so you can keep your pride."

Another vein throbbed. "I DO _NOT_—!"

"Done!" Miroku interrupted, paying his companion no attention whatsoever. "I hope this helps you, Miss Arakawa."

"Call me Kaede," Kaede said with a smile, taking the list from Miroku. "Oh, _here_ we are. Now I understand, since _some_ people are capable of writing in the English language. Yes, Mr. Nagashima, Mr. Hojo, Miss Kirihara, Miss Suou, Miss Kusakabe, Mr. Aogiri, Mr. Kotani, Miss Wakinosa… wait, Miss Wakinosa?"

"Is there a problem, Kaede?" Miroku asked kindly.

"I'm afraid I don't know a Miss Wakinosa," Kaede said. She turned to her computer and searched for Ayame Wakinosa. A single result popped up, and Kaede clicked it for a picture and information. She recognized the girl immediately. "Ah, yes, Ayame. Mrs. Nagashima."

"_Mrs._ Nagashima?" Inuyasha asked in surprise as Miroku looked over his list.

"That's the same name as Kouga Nagashima," Miroku said.

"Yes," Kaede said, making a point of ignoring Inuyasha and answering only to Miroku. This caused another vein to pop, but Inuyasha remained silent so that he could hear the explanation. "Her real name must be Ayame Wakinosa, but she tells everyone her name is Ayame Nagashima. She's got her heart set on marrying Mr. Nagashima, you see. Poor girl."

"Poor girl?" Miroku asked.

"Yes," Kaede said. "It's very sweet, what she's doing, but Mr. Nagashima doesn't return her feelings, that much is obvious. He's had his heart set on Kagome since the day he met her. Ayame won't give up, though. She hasn't stopped telling people her name is Ayame Nagashima since she met Koga when she first arrived a year after he did. He was already courting Kagome by this time, of course."

"So Koga is dating Kagome?" Miroku asked.

"Well, not quite," Kaede said, smiling at Miroku. "He claims he loves Kagome, but I've never heard Kagome say the same to him. They talk all the time and have several classes together, and there have been plenty of rumors that they were dating, of course, but I've seen no actual evidence for that."

There was a beep behind Kaede, and she turned around to grab several papers from the printer behind her. She handed them to Miroku with that same admiring smile. "Here you are."

"Thank you, Kaede," Miroku said with a charming smile of his own. "You've been invaluable to us."

"I'm glad to be of help," Kaede said. "Come back whenever you need anything, anything at all."

"Thank you for the offer," Miroku said. "I look forward to taking you up on it. And now we must be on our way. Until we meet again."

"Goodbye!" Kaede said, waving to Miroku from her desk.

Inuyasha huffed and glared at Miroku as soon as the door shut behind them. "Feh. What was that?"

"What was what?" Miroku asked innocently.

"That woman was in her seventies, eighties! You were hitting on her!"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Inuyasha," Miroku said, smiling. "I was simply establishing a good relationship."

"'A good relationship'," Inuyasha said mockingly. "I'd call you a pedophile, except that woman was three times your age."

"Really, Inuyasha," Miroku said, "you need to start thinking more. That was the student administrator, and thanks to me, we've got connections with her now. Did you hear what she said? 'Come back whenever you need anything at all.' Now she'll be willing to help us in the future."

"Why the hell would we want to talk to her again?" Inuyasha said.

Miroku sighed. "You'll never learn."

"Not likely."

"So what happened to make you two go at each other so?"

"Nothing," Inuyasha said intemperately.

"Mm hmm," Miroku said. "But that's the tone of 'nothing' that really means 'something'."

"Go screw someone."

"How I would like that after an all nighter," Miroku said dramatically. "Then again, I'm sure there are plenty of beautiful girls on the campus that would only be too happy to bare—"

"You know, I think I liked you better when you were an old-lady-phile," Inuyasha said sadistically.

---

A/N:

I love the weekends. Like, you have no idea how happy weekends make me. TGIF is, of course, wonderful, but I still have school on Friday. TGIS rocks my socks. Screw Fridays. Who needs them when you've got Saturdays, which also include new anime episodes? Really, how can Fridays compete?

Next chapter, Inuyasha and Miroku are scheduled to meet Kouga Nagashima. Past that, I can only imagine what's going to happen.

Thankx for reading, but since you've bothered to read it, take a moment (or several, since long reviews rock) to review it and tell me your opinions. Thankx again!

Riles


	3. The Tempest

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. In fact, I don't own anything. So no one can sue me. Mwaha.

---

Inuyasha stayed back while Miroku handled the negotiations with Totosai Wakamiya, professor of psychology at Shikon University. After meeting Takeda Nobunaga, the bubbly debate teacher, and Kaede Arakawa, the student administrator, Inuyasha was done talking to faculty. It was beyond him how anyone like Nobunaga could be a teacher of _debate_, and how anyone could put up with the Arakawa wench. Glancing over at Miroku and Totosai on the occasion, Inuyasha was glad he had stayed in front of the door, observing the students who entered. Totosai seemed to be berating Miroku over something. Inuyasha stifled a laugh. The old-lady-phile deserved it. Totosai and Kaede probably had something going, and Totosai was jealous that Miroku had been flirting. Both Totosai and Kaede seemed around the same age, though Inuyasha dared not guess just _how_ old they were, for he doubted even God racked up such numbers.

When Miroku returned to Inuyasha's side once again, he faked a smile, though he couldn't hide how miffed he was. "Koga's ours."

"Good," Inuyasha said. "The way he was coming after you, I thought he wouldn't let us."

"It's not like we need his permission anyway," Miroku said dismissively, obviously not in his usual cheery mood. "We're FBI. If we want to question someone, we'll do it."

"FBI?" came a strong voice from behind them. "What are you doing here? Who do you want to question? What the hell is going on?"

Inuyasha and Miroku turned to meet their inquisitor. He was a rather tall man with brown hair currently pulled back into a long ponytail. He had a rough looking face, which presently accompanied worried eyes that did not match his appearance. He was dressed casually in baggy jeans and a T-shirt, and his backpack was about to fall off his muscular arm.

Inuyasha was struck by how familiar he looked. Racking his photographic brain for an image, he suddenly stole Miroku's folder from his friend's hands and flipped through several sheets of paper before coming upon a picture of two girls smiling at a camera and a man in the background standing against the wall.

After taking the picture out of the folder, Inuyasha thrust the folder back at Miroku and held the photograph in front of the man's face. "Do you recognize any of these people?"

The man's eyes widened at Inuyasha's sudden movements, and he scanned the picture for a moment before pushing Inuyasha's arm away. "Maybe. You answer my questions and I'll answer yours."

"We don't do negotiations," Inuyasha said, shoving the picture back at Miroku. "You answer my questions and you can stay out of jail."

"You can't arrest me," the man said. "I haven't done anything."

"By not helping us, that makes you a suspect in an ongoing investigation," Inuyasha said. "We can do whatever the hell we want."

"Empty threat," he said confidently. "My fiancée is a majoring lawyer and I have another friend taking criminal justice. I know how your kind work."

"My name is Miroku Watase," Miroku spoke up suddenly. "This is Inuyasha Takahashi, my superior, difficult as that is to believe. We're here investigating an attempted homicide, and we're looking for Koga Nagashima. Do you know him?"

"Yeah," he said. "Who almost died?"

"Kagome Higurashi," Miroku said. "Now if you would be so kind as to… point us… to… are you okay?"

For the man's face had quite suddenly paled at an alarming rate. His horrified eyes and shocking lips seemed too colorful for his face. The backpack that had been trailing down his arm finally hit the ground with an enormous thud, revealing the weight concealed inside.

"_What?_" he whispered.

"What the hell is _your_ problem?" Inuyasha asked.

"Kagome?" he said, his helpless eyes turning to Inuyasha. "Someone tried to kill Kagome?"

And so fast Inuyasha wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, the color returned to the man's face. The eyes and lips that had seemed so colorful before dulled in comparison to the new shade of red on his skin. His muscles tensed, and with admirable speed, he had pinned Inuyasha to the wall.

"SOMEONE TRIED TO KILL KAGOME?"

"DON'T—SHOUT IT!" Inuyasha said, pushing the man off of him.

"WHO DID IT? WHO TRIED TO HURT HER? I SWEAR TO GOD THEY'LL REGRET THE DAY THEY EVEN _THOUGHT_—!"

It was Inuyasha's turn to slam the man into a wall. For a moment they struggled for control, but Inuyasha, experienced and with FBI training, won the battle.

"Listen up!" Inuyasha whispered in a harsh tone. When the man didn't seem to be listening to him, he pushed against his wrists with more force. "_Listen!_ We are still investigating, and the _last_ thing we need is for all of Shikon University to know why we're here! Get a hold on yourself and use your head, for Kagome's sake! Would she want _everyone_ to be worrying about her?"

The man stopped struggling against Inuyasha, and while he was silent, he was still breathing heavily. All eyes were on the pair, and Inuyasha winced at the thought that they had heard every word. Then again, he wouldn't be surprised with this idiot's shouting. Inuyasha felt a light struggle beneath his arms, and the man's gruff voice said, "Get off me."

Inuyasha backed away, and the man relaxed, though he didn't move away from the wall.

"What's your name?" Miroku said, now that the beast was calm.

"Koga Nagashima."

Miroku raised an eyebrow and placed a checkmark next to Koga's name. He lifted up the picture of the two girls and held it before Koga again. "Can you identify anyone in this picture?"

Koga nodded without even looking. "Kagome and Sango."

"Sango Natsuki?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah."

"And in the background, that's you?" Inuyasha spoke up.

"Of course it is," Koga said in a slightly snappish manner.

"When was the last time you saw Kagome?" Miroku asked.

"At _Buyo's_," Koga said. "We all went out for a drink."

"Who's 'we all'?" Miroku said.

"Me, Kagome, Sango. Hakkaku and Ginta wanted to come along, but I sent them on an errand."

"Lackeys?" Inuyasha asked.

"Friends," Koga corrected harshly, "who do everything I say."

"Lackeys," Inuyasha mumbled, but Koga missed it because Miroku said, "What about your other friends? I have Ayumi Kusakabe, Eri Suou, Yuka Kirihara, and Ayame Wakinosa."

"Let's get something straight," Koga said. "Ayame is _not_ my friend. She's some obsessive little junior with a little more than a crush. She stalks me, she writes me love letters, she even gave me a ring and goes around wearing one herself, telling everyone we're married. The girl's a nutcase."

"And you like Kagome?" Miroku said.

"Like her?" Koga said, almost as though he were insulted. "I am in _love_ with Kagome. I spend every waking moment thinking about her. I take each new breath so that I can see her again. It makes my heart race to even think about her. I—"

"I, I, me, my, it's all about you," Inuyasha spat. Koga looked at him in shock. "Let me tell you something about love, pal. If you spent 'every waking moment' thinking about Kagome, your heart would always be racing and you would die. And get a life! 'I breathe so I can see Kagome again!' No wonder the girl wasn't interested. You're smothering her! Give her some space; let _her_ breathe! The way you talk about her—it's disgusting."

"Don't criticize _me_ just because_ you_ can't relate to love!" Koga barked.

"Believe me, love is _nothing_ like what you describe. That's the fool's version of love."

"And you've been in love to know? Don't make me laugh!"

"Excuse me," Miroku said in a loud voice. "I think we've gotten all we need. We may be contacting you in the future. Inuyasha, let's go."

"Feh," Inuyasha said, turning away from Koga in an almost snobbish manner. "Fine. Not like I want to stay around here anyway."

"Koga, thank you for your time. You may return to your classroom now."

"Wait!" Koga said. "Where is Kagome now?"

"None of your damn—"

"At FSH," Miroku said. "They're not allowing visitors, though, until we've cleared some suspects."

"I can't see her?" Koga asked angrily.

"Not until we clear you as a suspect," Miroku said.

"I would _never_ hurt Kagome!"

"Feh," Inuyasha said. "That's what they all say."

---

When Inuyasha and Miroku arrived at Mrs. Midoriko Uchiha's classroom—and the "Mrs." disappointed Miroku greatly—they were ten minutes past the time for class to start. Miroku had insisted on asking Kaede for all the information she had on the university's professors, claiming it would "greatly assist in any strategies used to ensure their cooperation throughout the investigation". Inuyasha would have thought his friend quite clever for suggesting this had he not known Miroku had ulterior motives.

Upon arrival at room 314, it became all too apparent that a class was not going on inside. The students were huddled together with Midoriko barricaded on the outside, chastising her students about something as she tried to slip through the mass. Inuyasha and Miroku glanced at each other before the latter placed his hand on the doorknob and allowed themselves entry. They went in unnoticed, though now they could understand what was being spoken in the room.

"_Really_, everyone, this is _not_ proper classroom conduct! I cannot teach like this! Nagashima, would you please _stop_? I'm sure your experience with the FBI was incredible, but you need to share your story _outside_ of my classroom!"

The eyes of the FBI agents widened to the size of plates. Inuyasha immediately ran to the crowd and began pulling people away by force, unceremoniously tossing them aside. Miroku wanted to help his superior clear a way to Koga, but felt he was needed more behind Inuyasha where he tried to soften the falls of the unlucky students. After peeling through several layers of students, Inuyasha found the source of his problems.

"… And then I pinned him to the floor and forced him to ask for mercy. By this time, I could feel the poison beginning to weaken my body, so I took his own gun and threatened to kill him if he didn't tell me where Kagome was. He whimpered and said she was at the FSH, then started to cry because he 'didn't want to die'…."

"Let's see who's crying when I'm done with you, you little punk!" Inuyasha said, grabbing on to Koga's shirt and preparing to strike.

"Now, Inuyasha," Miroku said as he came up behind his friend, grabbing the fist Inuyasha was preparing to throw at Koga, "you can't go around beating the students."

"Did you hear what he said?" Inuyasha shouted.

"Yes," Miroku said, "and he shall be dually rewarded for his lack of self-control. In the meantime, don't make me have to arrest you."

Inuyasha grudgingly released his grip on Koga's collar.

Miroku turned to Midoriko. "I'm Miroku Watase, and this is Inuyasha Takahashi of the FBI. I'm sorry, but we need to take Koga Nagashima and Akitoki Hojo from your class."

"Please do," Midoriko said. "Perhaps I'll actually teach them something. Hojo! Go with these people."

There was no movement to satisfy this request.

"Hojo!" Midoriko said, peering through the crowd of students. Her eyes widened. "Where's Hojo? He was here when the bell rang."

Koga's eyes narrowed, though no one noticed anything was wrong until he bolted from the room moments later.

"HEY!" Inuyasha shouted, immediately giving chase. "WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?"

Inuyasha sprinted after his adversary, but still didn't gain any ground. Koga's feet were much faster this hands, and Inuyasha was finding it difficult to stick with him, much less prevent him from pulling ahead. Inuyasha raced through the hallways and slid around corners while still maintaining his balance, an impressive feat on the newly polished floors.

Koga turned a corner, and moments later Inuyasha heard a door open. He turned the same corner and slammed into the door, stumbling on his way outside. The scorching sun blinded him momentarily, but the sound of a car's engine starting forced him to ignore the sun's rays. A red car backed out of its parking space at the front and within seconds had raced out of the parking lot.

Inuyasha ran. He reached behind him and pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket, opening it up and holding down the number two. He stuck the phone to his ear and then reached into his side pocket to grab the keys that were poking into his thigh. Just as he reached his black corvette, Miroku picked up.

"Yo!" Inuyasha growled into the phone. "Get your ass to the front of building in three seconds or I'm leaving you!"

_"Inuyasha, you really don't think I can be there in three—"_

"Do it, Miroku!" Inuyasha snapped, slamming the top of the phone down as he lurched into his car. He jammed the keys into the ignition and allowed scientific laws to shut his door as he floored it. He followed the road to the front of the building and braked, earning a nice screeching sound from his sudden stop. When Miroku did not immediately appear at the door, he screamed, "GET A MOVE ON, MIROKU!"

After a few moments, Miroku pushed open the door Inuyasha and Koga had just come through, panting violently. Inuyasha paid no mind, but instead passed Miroku a glare that demanded he get into the car immediately. Miroku considered stopping to breathe out of spite, but knew all too well that Inuyasha would leave him if he showed the slightest sign of delay. Glaring at Inuyasha himself, he jumped into the car, barely off the ground before Inuyasha hit the accelerator.

Miroku grasped for the seatbelt, but Inuyasha made a sharp turn and instead his head bashed into the window. He huffed in annoyance and again reached for the seatbelt, this time successfully putting it around him. He noted that Inuyasha wasn't wearing his and that he was likely going to regret that at the speed he was going. He grabbed the armrests in Inuyasha's car tightly, his knuckles turning white at the abuse. His eyes never left the road, and he was strongly reminded of why he never allowed Inuyasha to drive. While Inuyasha was good in a high-speed chase, Miroku preferred to watch the chase rather than participate in it. Needless to say, Miroku had grown rather attached to his life, and he intended on keeping it for another fifty or sixty years. Perhaps he had taken up the wrong profession.

"There's the bastard," Inuyasha murmured, his eyes trained on the old Volvo ahead of him.

Miroku followed Inuyasha's gaze. "Looks like you're _both_ speeding."

"Don't get on me about my driving now!"

"I should have let you leave me at the university. I could've gone looking for Sango."

"Yeah, and then I'd have taken the heat because you molested a college girl."

"I wouldn't have _molested_—" Inuyasha followed Koga's car as it took a sharp left. "I wonder if it's possible for me to live through this?"

"You're welcome to jump out!"

Miroku glanced out his window at the road, where instead of the yellow dashes, he saw only a long yellow line. "I'll pass. Why are we chasing him again?"

"Because he's running away!"

"And that makes him guilty how?"

"Dammit, Miroku, stop overanalyzing everything!"

"You know, it's at times like these that I wonder how you're my superior."

"It's at times like these that I'm glad I am."

"Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't have been able to stop you even if I _was_ your superior." There was another sharp turn. "Though at this rate you're going to be a _dead_ superior."

"Is there ever a time where you're _not_ running your mouth?"

"Why haven't the cops started after us yet?" Miroku said, ignoring Inuyasha's question. A sudden sound of sirens was heard behind them. "Oh, there they are."

"Dammit, why'd you have to jinx us?"

"I, for one, am glad that the police of this city are doing their jobs. You are going over a hundred miles an hour. How is it you haven't crashed yet?"

"I'm a damn good driver," Inuyasha said, following the car as it made another sharp left. "What the hell?"

The two FBI agents found themselves stalking Koga's car to the Four Souls Hospital. The old, red Volvo slammed on its brakes in front of the doors that led inside, and the brunette driver jumped out of his car and raced inside. Inuyasha pulled in behind him and followed suit, Miroku trailing Inuyasha as they raced towards the door. The two police cars that were now chasing them stopped behind Inuyasha and sprang from their cars, running to catch up with their perpetrators.

"FBI! STOP!" Inuyasha yelled as he pushed open the automatic doors, which were not moving fast enough for him.

No one, however, paid him any attention, for there was already quite a commotion going on in the hospital lobby.

"DO I LOOK LIKE I GIVE A FUCKING DAMN ABOUT 'THE FBI ORDERS'? LET ME SEE HER, OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF EVERY FUCKING EMPLOYEE I MEET ON MY WAY UP TO HER ROOM!" a woman was screaming.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STOP SHOUTING!" The annoyed secretary did not seem to realize that she, too, was shouting.

"YOU SNEAKY BASTARD, LEAVING ME THERE AND RUNNING OFF TO SEE KAGOME YOURSELF!" Koga Nagashima had already picked a fight.

The man he was fighting with did not seem to desire to argue. "I didn't mean to, I just had to see her! When I heard that Kagome was hurt, I was so worried!"

"LET ME FUCKING THROUGH!"

"SECURITY!"

"'DIDN'T MEAN TO' MY ASS!"

"Really, I didn't!"

"POLICE! GET YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" Two shots were fired.

"OH MY GOD, WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"

"GET A GRIP, LADY! IT'S THE FUCKING POLICE, NOT THE SOVIET UNION!"

"Koga, get down!"

"WHAT THE HELL? DO YOU WANT ME TO GO DEAF?"

"_HANDS IN THE AIR!_"

There was another shot fired, and this time, Inuyasha saw blood.

---

A/N:

Finally another chapter! I must apologize for such a wait. My stepdad erased everything on my computer because it was going slowly, and I lost everything I had on there! I was so mad.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There was quite a bit of profanity there at the end… haha! How I love this character… the woman there. I sometimes change her character into someone more outgoing when I write her because it's more interesting to read and to write. But a lot of people do it, so I don't feel too bad.

Next chapter… um… well, we're going to get this lobby scene cleared up. You'll find out who the woman arguing with the secretary is and who the man that doesn't want to argue with Koga is. Any guesses? You'll probably be right. : )

Thankx for reading, but since you've bothered to read it, take a moment (or several, since long reviews rock) to review it and tell me your opinions. Thankx again!

Riles


	4. Her Best Friend

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. In fact, I don't own anything. So no one can sue me. Mwaha.

---

There was absolute silence in the hospital lobby.

The blood dripped onto the clean carpet, likely some janitor's pride and joy.

No one moved, only stared at the man as the blood fell from his wounds, slowly starting a growing circle of red.

"Stop it." Miroku didn't move his hand from the barrel of the gun, where a bullet had gone straight through his hand and into his shoulder. "Stop scaring these people. This can be handled without violence."

The policeman, who was perhaps the most shocked person in the hospital at that moment, only stared. Then after a moment he slowly lowered his gun, still staring at Miroku as though he had never seen anything quite like him. Miroku's hand followed the gun down until his hand returned to his side.

"We're FBI. We'll take care of everything from here. Go on back to your posts. Don't worry about a thing." Miroku had a short staring contest with the policeman who had fired the bullet before the policeman nodded and turned around, followed by his companion, both in such a state of surprise that they didn't even ask for proof of Miroku's FBI claims.

Miroku turned around so that he was facing the four people who had been making such a commotion before. "My name is Miroku Watase. I'm with the FBI. Miss," Miroku looked at the secretary, "if you would continue your duties without calling security, I can take over from here. The rest of you, please come with me."

The man who didn't want to argue with Koga immediately followed Miroku's instructions. Koga and the woman hesitated, Koga growling at Miroku in annoyance. The woman stared at Miroku, her mouth slightly open, but her feet firmly in place.

"Come on," Miroku said, beckoning them closer with his good hand. "We should talk outside."

"Hmm," Koga grunted, finally walking to the hospital doors. "Damn stalkers."

"WE ARE NOT STALKERS!" Inuyasha said angrily, his patience for Koga long since diminished.

"No yelling, Inuyasha," Miroku chastised.

The woman still didn't move. Miroku gave her a pleading look, and she looked as though she was about to consent, but then the phone rang to break her reverie. The secretary answered it, and the woman shook her head.

"No," she said in a melodious voice that captivated Miroku instantly. "I need to see Kagome. We can talk once I've seen her."

"You can't see her," Miroku said softly. "My friend and I are the ones who authorized her seclusion. We need Kagome to be left alone until her case is solved."

The brunette's fiery gaze was beginning again. "I can see her if I want to. She's my best friend, and I'm not going to let anyone stop me from seeing her. She's in the _hospital_."

"Listen to me," Miroku said. "I've seen Kagome. I can tell you that she's all right in the hospital's care. You have to trust me. If you try and get in by force, we'll have to arrest you. Please trust me."

"Why the hell should I do that?" the woman asked. "How do I know you're really from the FBI anyway?"

Miroku reached into his jeans pocket with his good hand and pulled out a badge, showed it to the woman, and put it back. "C'mon outside."

The brunette's expression showed that she didn't want to leave, but she was finding Miroku hard to resist. "I want to see her. She's my best friend."

"You can't see her. Try to understand. No one can see Kagome until they've been cleared as a suspect. Think of Kagome. You wouldn't want the person who tried to kill her to be able to come in and see her, would you?"

The woman bit her lower lip. "No. But I didn't hurt her."

"Then help us to clear you as suspect. The more resistance you put up to us, the harder it will be to make you seem innocent. Come with me and you can see Kagome sooner. Please, Sango?"

Her eyes widened. "How did you know my name?"

Miroku smiled and held out his hand. "With a face like yours, how could I _not_ know who you are?" When Sango flushed but did not move, Miroku's smile widened. "I am well aware that Kagome's best friend is Sango Natsuki. If you claim to be her best friend, that's the only person you could be."

Sango stared at Miroku for several moments, then slowly walked over to him, taking the hand he held out to her. Miroku's smile broadened once more before he led her outside. Inuyasha huffed and rolled his eyes, walking over to the secretary's desk.

"Hey, wait until we're done talking with those people and then give that guy some medical attention."

"Doesn't… doesn't he want the bullet removed now?"

"Feh," Inuyasha said. "He's too busy flirting to even realize he was shot."

When Inuyasha got the woman's nod of consent that she would help Miroku later, Inuyasha turned on his heel and walked out of the hospital, taking a left as he spotted the group he was looking for, Miroku still grasping onto Sango.

_Damn womanizer._

Miroku had led them to an out-of-the-way area, to a corner of the hospital where there was only grass and flowerbeds. He sat down on the grass, inevitably forcing Sango to go down with him. The rest of them had sat down and made themselves comfortable, waiting for Inuyasha. When Inuyasha joined them, Miroku began speaking, still holding Sango's hand.

"When my colleague, Inuyasha Takahashi, and I came here, we were following Koga."

"Stalkers," Koga murmured.

"WE ARE NOT!"

"Speak for yourself," Miroku said to Inuyasha, but then immediately continued, giving no one any time to react to his statement. "So I know Koga and Sango, but who are you?"

The man to whom the question had been directed looked surprised for a moment, and then smiled. "I'm Akitoki Hojo, but everyone calls me Hojo. I'm one of Kagome's friends."

"Yes, you're on our list," Miroku noted. "Well, we just lucked out! Hojo, Sango, we've been meaning to interview you. We are, of course, investigating Mrs. Higurashi's death and the attempted murder on Kagome."

The three college students' mouths dropped.

Miroku looked at them, confused. "What is it?"

"Mrs. Higurashi?" Sango said after a moment. "Mrs. Higurashi is dead?"

Miroku now understood, and he slowly nodded. "Yes."

"_Dammit!_" Koga said, pounding on the ground. "I almost lost Kagome, and now Kagome's lost her mom!"

"Who would want to kill Mrs. Higurashi?" Hojo asked in shock.

"That's what we're trying to find out," Miroku said.

Sango's grip on Miroku's hand became increasingly tense. He felt the circulation leaving, and he looked over at her to ask her to loosen her grip, but couldn't bring the words out when he saw her.

She was crying. Her head was bowed so as to try and hide them from the world, but with her hair loosely pulled back, Miroku saw them. He didn't remember that his hand was turning white from lack of blood, but only saw her anguish.

"She was so nice," Sango said, her voice breaking up in between her words. "She was the kindest person I've ever known. She practically raised me! Who would ever want to hurt her? Kill her? She was so generous, always willing to give up her money or her time for a greater cause. She devoted her life to Kagome, to everyone around her! She was such a beautiful person." Sango whimpered. "_Why?_ How could this happen? WHO COULD KILL SOMEONE LIKE THAT?"

No one said anything. Sango cried. When her speech was done, she slowly began allowing blood flow back into Miroku's hand. After a minute of silence, Sango wiped the remnants of her tears away and looked up, blinking at the sunlight that hit her face. Hojo, too, had been crying, though making much less of a scene, and Koga was looking at the sky, blinking furiously. Miroku waited another moment before continuing.

"Hojo, we'll let Sango recuperate and start with you. Can you tell me when the last time you saw Kagome was?"

"I actually saw her mother last," Hojo said, "but the last time I saw Kagome was in biology. That's the last class we have together."

"But you say you saw her mother last?" Inuyasha said, finally speaking up now that they were getting back to something he was more comfortable with—interrogation.

"Yes," Hojo said. "I saw her at Publix."

"About what time was that?" Inuyasha asked skeptically.

"Um…" Hojo said, trying to think. "Maybe around four or five? I don't remember exactly when."

Miroku nodded. That matched up with the timeline they had collected thus far. Arisa Higurashi had used her credit card at Publix around four thirty.

"And you don't know of any enemies Mrs. Higurashi or Kagome has?"

"Not Mrs. Higurashi," Hojo said, "but Kagome has quite a few."

"Really?" Miroku said. "Know any names?"

Hojo nodded. "It's really anyone who is competitive about grades. Kagome's the top of every class she's in. Mostly Onigumo Tsuzitani and the Sevens."

"The Sevens?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes," Hojo said. "The Sevens are… well…" He looked as though he was having difficulty finding something good to say. "They like to keep to themselves and—"

"They're a group of punks who think they can do whatever they want," Koga said. "They and their girlfriends have recently gotten really hostile toward Kagome."

"Just recently?" Miroku asked with interest.

"Yeah," Koga said. "Dunno why. They weren't really on good terms before; they just tried to stay clear of one another. For the last month or so, though, they've gone out of their way to make life difficult for her."

"Like how?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well, they started trashing her car. Popping tires, breaking in and stealing things, that kind of thing."

"That's a federal offense. Why didn't Kagome report any of this?"

"Kagome has a tough side," Koga said, "but she's also got a soft spot for some things. For some reason, she pitied those losers and didn't want them to get in trouble."

"I see," Miroku said. "Can you think of any other people with a grudge against Kagome?"

Hojo shook his head, but Koga nodded. "Ayame Wakinosa."

Miroku looked confused. "Isn't she your—well, Kagome's friend?" Koga had already made it clear at Shikon University that he was not friends with Ayame, but Miroku had assumed Kagome was friends with her.

"Yeah, only because I'm there," Koga said. "Ayame hates Kagome because I'm in love with Kagome and not her. Ayame's always trying to get Kagome into trouble and such. I tell her to leave Kagome alone, but she's a determined wench."

"Anyone else?"

This time Koga shook his head.

Miroku squeezed slightly on Sango's hand. Sango, as if just realizing that their heads were still linked, drew hers away quickly. Miroku looked slightly hurt, but hid it as he said, "Is there anything we should know, Sango?"

Sango shook her head.

"You could be a little more helpful," Inuyasha snapped. "It's _your_ best friend that's lying there in a coma."

Sango's head jerked up. "A _coma_?"

Miroku reached over and smacked Inuyasha. "Idiot. You really need to learn tact, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha glared daggers as he rubbed his head.

"Kagome's in a _coma_?"

"Yes," Miroku said, "but try not to worry. There's nothing you can do except to tell us everything you know. When was the last time you saw Mrs. Higurashi and Kagome?"

Sango shook her head slightly as though to clear her mind, thinking back. "At Kagome's house, I guess. After we went out to _Buyo's_, I stayed at her house for an hour to work on homework."

"And did you see Arisa Higurashi there as well?"

Sango nodded. "Yeah. As I was leaving, she was walking in the door. We talked for a minute before I left. That was the last time I saw either of them."

"About what time was that?" Miroku said.

Sango shrugged. "I don't know."

"Think harder," Inuyasha said.

Sango gave him a hard stare as she thought back. "I'm not sure. I didn't look at a clock. A vague guess would be fiveish."

Once again, the timeline was being completed. Miroku spoke. "Did anyone normally come over to the Higurashi's later in the evening?"

"Not usually," Sango said.

"Then you were probably the last one to see them alive."

Sango closed her eyes as this fact sunk in. "Probably."

The FBI agents made a note of this.

"Hey," Sango said suddenly, "what's happened to Sota? If Mrs. Higurashi is… dead… and Kagome is here, where is Sota?"

Miroku opened his mouth as though he were about to speak and then closed it.

Sango knew this could not mean anything good. "Tell me. You have to tell me what's happened to Sota."

"We don't know," Inuyasha said after a moment, seeing that Miroku was not going to answer her. "We were hoping one of you could tell us."

Sango's jaw dropped. "He's _missing_? He could be dead!"

Miroku slowly nodded. "That's a definite possibility."

Sango stood up immediately. "And you're just sitting here? Send out a search party, broadcast his picture, do everything you can to find him!"

"Sango, please," Miroku said. "Calm down. We didn't want to make a fuss until we knew he wasn't staying at a friend's house or something."

"Of he wasn't," Sango said, as though this were the most stupid thing she had ever heard. "Sota doesn't _have_ any friends except for Rin and Kohaku."

"Rin and Kohaku?" Inuyasha said.

"Rin Hiwatari and Kohaku, my little brother. They're the only people Sota ever talked to."

"And since we're assuming Sota isn't staying with you, how do you know he's not staying with Rin?"

Sango stared at Inuyasha, now seeming to have found a new height of stupidity. "Rin is a _girl_."

"Obviously," Inuyasha said, not picking up on Sango's point.

"Sota is a _boy_."

"Since he's Kagome's brother, I should hope so."

"Inuyasha," Miroku said in exasperation, "leave this part to me to figure out."

Inuyasha shrugged.

"Well, now you know he's not at a friend's house! Go _do_ something!"

"Of course," Miroku said, "but if it's all right with you, we'd still like to call Mrs. Hiwatari to make sure Sota isn't there."

Sango hesitated here. "You can't."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "And why the hell not?"

Sango hesitated again. "Rin doesn't have a mom. She lives with this old man who adopted her a long time ago. He's a crazy madman; I don't know why they entrusted her to him."

"So Mr. Hiwatari then?"

"Mr. Sato, Jaken Sato," Sango said. "Nevermind, just let me do it."

Sango pulled out a cell phone from her back pocket and held down the number seven, revealing Rin's home to be on speed dial. After a few moments, Sango spoke. "Hello, Mr. Sato? This is Sango. No… no, that's not what this is about. What? Mr. Sato, please try not to be paranoid. Kohaku is a good kid. Yes, I'm sure. I need to know if Sota stayed at your house last night. I know he's never slept over before, but I just needed to check. Kagome hasn't lost him! I can't tell you that. Will you just answer the question? Thank you. Goodbye, Mr. Sato."

Sango closed the phone and shook her head. "He's not there. _Now_ will you do something about it?"

"We'll get right on it," Miroku said, standing. "Thank you all for your time. I assume we can find you at Shikon University in case we need you?"

"If we have classes," Koga said. "We don't live there."

"You can always find me there," Hojo said.

Koga and Sango shared a look of disgust.

"There we go, a good student!" Miroku said, patting Hojo on the back. "You keep it up!"

"Thank you!" Hojo said, beaming. "I will!"

"You take care of the broadcast," Inuyasha said, walking away. "I've got other things to take care of."

Miroku smiled mischievously. "Kikyo-related things?"

Inuyasha turned around with a sharp glare that it would have terrified even the bravest of men. He instead looked over at Sango and said, "I'd take about six steps away. In about two minutes he's going to grope you and give you some cheesy line about how his hands are drawn to the most beautiful things."

Miroku's jaw dropped. "_Inuyasha!_ How dare you spoil my fun!"

"Your mouth's as active as your hand," Inuyasha spat, turning away and walking over to the black corvette that was still parked in front of the hospital doors.

Miroku looked pleadingly at Sango as she wearily took Inuyasha's advice, eyeing Miroku's hand with mistrust. The dark-haired lecher looked back at Inuyasha for help to reconcile his relationship with the beautiful brunette, but Inuyasha was already driving out of the parking lot.

"Hey!" Miroku shouted, suddenly bolting after Inuyasha, an admirable task since moving his left arm was exceedingly painful. "How am I supposed to get home without a car? INUYASHA!"

---

Inuyasha parked out front of a pale-colored house behind an ancient-looking Toyota. The neighborhood gave the feeling that it had not long ago been the delight of the city, but was now losing its boastful glow. The house Inuyasha was in front of was perhaps the most rundown in the neighborhood, the plants in front of the windows willowing and an abandoned oak tree in the middle of the slightly unkempt yard. The curtains over the windows were closed, and the door was slowly gathering dirt to make the pretty white door slowly turn gray. The garage door, too, had this same appearance, though perhaps to a greater degree since it looked as though it had not been used in several years. Inuyasha walked familiarly along the path up the front door, stepping over some weeds that were trying to block him from his goal. He stepped onto the small porch and knocked on the tainted door.

It was a few moments before he heard a shuffling of footsteps, and the door opened an inch. A girl with long, straight black hair and slits for eyes peered through the crack at her visitor. Realizing who it was, she stepped back and held open the door for her guest.

"Inuyasha," Kikyo greeted.

"Hey," Inuyasha said, stepping inside. He waited for Kikyo to shut the door and then led the way to her living room, knowing the map of the house by heart. Inuyasha wearily collapsed onto Kikyo's worn couch, throwing his arm over his eyes to shield them from the light of the room.

"Rough day?" Kikyo said.

"I'm supposed to be the night shift," Inuyasha said, "and I've been working for twenty-four hours."

"Who's working now then?" Kikyo said.

"Day shift," Inuyasha said. "We forced it on them."

"How kind of you," Kikyo said. She carefully maneuvered herself on the couch so that she was lying on top of Inuyasha, resting her head against his chest, listening the beating of his heart. "What happened today?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Not much."

Kikyo closed her eyes, trying to hide her annoyance. "You never tell me what's going on."

"I can't," Inuyasha said. "Not about work. That's confidential stuff. You know that."

Kikyo sighed. "I really wish you would tell me. Don't you trust me?"

"It's not that I don't trust you," Inuyasha assured her quietly. "It's just part of the job. It's something I agreed to when I took this position."

Kikyo didn't say anything for a moment. "I feel like you can't trust me. You never tell me anything. How do I know that you actually weren't pulling a double today? How do I know you weren't with some other girl?"

Here, Inuyasha sat up on his elbows to look at Kikyo. Kikyo, in turn, pushed up against her palms so she could stare at Inuyasha.

"There's no one else," Inuyasha said. "I promise you. And you know I wasn't with anyone else. You spoke with me on the phone, remember? I've been working, I promise. Don't you trust me, too?"

Kikyo was silent for several moments as she looked into Inuyasha's eyes, searching for some kind of answer. After another moment she gave a slight smile. "Of course."

Inuyasha returned the smile and lay back down, resulting in Kikyo returning to her previous position. Neither of them spoke for several minutes, each enjoying the comfortable silence that had come over them. Finally, Kikyo moved up and pressed her lips against Inuyasha's skin, slowly kissing him all around his neck. Inuyasha smiled, but made no other movement. Kikyo moved up Inuyasha's body and then down it, helping Inuyasha out of his shirt so that she could get to his chest.

Inuyasha allowed himself to relax in Kikyo's home, in Kikyo's presence. She was the one who made him feel at peace inside, like he could overcome any obstacle that came during work because he would see her that night. Inuyasha thought back to the ring he had seen at the jeweler's store last week. The thought of ever not seeing Kikyo when work was over was devastating. One day soon he would have to ensure that that was never a possibility.

---

A/N:

Hey again, everyone! So I wrote another chapter this weekend. Hope you enjoyed it. I'm so excited about this fic. I've got this outline of what's going to happen, and it makes me so excited.

**DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT DIANA'S AMAZING, EXCITING, WONDERFUL NEWS IS?** Well, guess what? I'm going to tell you! Okay! On Monday, March 13 (the Monday of Spring Break), I'm going to… _GET A PRIVATE TOUR OF A CRIME LAB_! I'm so excited! Just recently I began considering a career as a crime scene analyst (CSI), and this makes me SOOOOOOOOO happy! And I'm telling everyone. The only thing I haven't done is announce it in the morning at my school. I'm thinking of doing that Thursday. **THIS HAS BEEN DIANA'S AMAZING, EXCITING, WONDERFUL NEWS!**

Next chapter Inuyasha and Miroku are going to go visit Touran, the coroner. I'm not sure if they'll get to the hospital after that or not in the next chapter… probably.

Thankx for reading, but since you've bothered to read it, take a moment (or several, since long reviews rock) to review it and tell me your opinions. Thankx again!

Riles


	5. Errands

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. In fact, I don't own anything. So no one can sue me. Mwaha.

---

Inuyasha and Miroku walked down the familiar halls that led to Touran Kugyo's office. The morgue was never a place they enjoyed visiting, and now was no exception. The silence in the building was bone chilling, and to top it off, the building was always freezing. Once again, Inuyasha had forgotten a jacket. Miroku looked at his shivering friend sympathetically.

It was not Inuyasha's custom to knock, and so he did not now. He boldly turned the doorknob and let himself in to Touran's office, paying no mind as to whether or not he was welcome. Miroku figured this was mostly because he wasn't. Inuyasha and Touran often worked together, and in front of one another, they put up friendly faces, but each secretly hated the other. Inuyasha thought Touran changed her diagnoses based on the amount of money she was paid; Touran knew that Inuyasha was related to Sesshomaru, and that was enough for her. The exact history between Touran and Sesshomaru was unknown.

The FBI agents were surprised to find the office empty, so instead they proceeded to the next place Touran might be—with a body. They again roamed those creepy hallways in search of Touran, both walking in silence. The morgue, like a church or a library, was one of those places that one did not speak.

Their search was rewarded, or perhaps penalized, when they found Touran in one of the farther rooms. She was not alone, however, to their immense loathing.

"… Puncturing the right pari—oh, hey. What the hell happened to you?" Touran's question was directed toward Miroku and his cast.

"I was in the middle of a shootout," Miroku said dramatically.

Inuyasha scoffed.

Touran didn't look like she believed Miroku, but instead continued. "I'd have waited if I knew you were coming."

"They probably didn't know themselves," Naraku sneered. "With Inuyasha's memory and his lack of timeliness, it was likely an accident they stumbled in here."

"Take your stupid comments elsewhere," Inuyasha said. "We're here to look at the Higurashis."

"Plural, no; singular, yes," Touran said.

Inuyasha and Miroku blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I only have Arisa," Touran said.

"But you have Kagome's bullet," Inuyasha said. "She did come to you before she was taken to the hospital."

"Why would I have taken out that bullet? What if I'd damaged her brain further than it already was? I'm a coroner, Takahashi, not a paramedic. I deal with the dead, not the living. You can do whatever the hell you want to with a dead person."

Inuyasha gave an angry groan. He was going to have to go back to that damned hospital.

"Tell us about Arisa, then," Miroku said, stepping toward the autopsy table.

"Just telling Naraku," Touran said, stretching her hand out over the body so that she could point as she spoke. "The bullet penetrated the right parietal bone and went straight into the brain."

"Tell me you have the mother's bullet," Inuyasha interrupted in a tone that pleaded an affirmative response and threatened anything to the contrary.

Naraku looked at Inuyasha as though he were an idiot.

"Of course," Touran said, reaching over to a silver plate and picking up the bullet with a pair of tweezers. "A .22, the hit man's bullet of choice."

"Why?" Miroku asked, who was only vaguely familiar with .22s.

"They have enough energy to enter into the cranium, but not enough to exit. They just ricochet around inside, shredding gray matter, until they stop," Touran said.

"So right now, Arisa looks pretty ugly in there," Miroku said, grimacing at the thought.

"Yes, she does," Touran said. "I was just about to open her up a bit more and get a better look, if you wanted to stay."

Miroku immediately shook his head with a gracious smile. "As appealing as that sounds, Inuyasha and I must be off to the hospital. We have to get Kagome's bullet so it can be compared this bullet."

"Yes, I'm sure you're _very_ busy," Naraku commented.

"Damn straight, so our time is valuable and you'd better enjoy it while you can," Inuyasha said. "And _you'll_ be doing the comparing, so you'd be better be grateful we're saving you a trip."

"You just like to feel important," Naraku said.

"No, I know you'll go whining to Fluffy and he'll have me get it later anyway," Inuyasha spat. He turned to Touran. "Anything unusual about the body?"

Touran ignored the quarrel. "Slight bruising in various locations on the left side, but that's it. I'm assuming she hit herself when she fell."

"Was she sexually assaulted?" Miroku asked.

"She's married. I won't be able to tell."

"She's a widow. Was she sexually assaulted?"

Touran looked surprised at Miroku's response. "Let's find out."

As Touran moved toward the lower half of the woman's body, Inuyasha rolled his eyes and turned away, instead moving over to the bullet, examining it. "The hit man's bullet of choice" certainly sounded like something he might need to know in the future. Inuyasha stored the information away and grabbed a sanitized evidence bag, using the tweezers Touran had to put the bullet inside. He sealed it away, placed it back on the plate for Naraku to collect later, and turned around to see Touran wiping her hands, standing up straight.

"No evidence of sexual assault as far as I can tell. I can run further tests, if you'd like, but I highly doubt it."

"Do that."

"I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"Thank you for your time," Miroku said, heading towards the door. "We're off."

"Give my regards to the girl," Naraku said snidely.

"Go to hell," Inuyasha spat, slamming the door behind Miroku and himself.

---

Inuyasha was jumping out of the car before he had even finished parking. Miroku fearfully took control and switched the car to park, worried that they were going to continue gliding along the parking lot and crash. He abandoned the car in the middle of the lane, something close to what had happened on their visit the day before, and raced inside to catch up to Inuyasha.

The secretary informed him that Inuyasha, being his speedy self, had immediately gone toward the stairwell. Miroku thanked her and did the same, taking the steps three at a time as he followed Inuyasha's trail. He paused on the fourth floor, where Kagome was, and walked over to the main desk on that floor. He was again informed that Inuyasha had just been by, and that a man had taken him to another floor.

Finally Miroku had hopes of catching up to Inuyasha. His superior couldn't force everyone to be as fast as he was. After inquiring as to which floor it was Inuyasha was going, Miroku flew up the stairwell again, this time hopeful as he heard a door close above. He quickly reached the door to the seventh floor and walked inside, looking around for his partner.

He was overwhelmed by the difference in this room compared to the rest of the hospital. Hospitals were welcoming, or as welcoming as a hospital could be, but this room compared better to a storage facility. He was soon to find out that that was exactly what it was. Miroku tried to hold in his breakfast as he looked around, noting organs and fetuses in certain places, freezers containing only-God-knew-what in others. He knew the hospital wouldn't be doing anything illegal, but he thought what he was seeing should be a crime in itself. Those were fetuses—_children_—who were being put in glass on display. And for what? To sicken anyone passing by? To send to an experimental facility in an undisclosed location?

Miroku continued walking. Likely both.

"Aha!" There was a faint voice, unrecognizable, up ahead, somewhere amid the rows of boxes on the shelves. As it continued, Miroku traced it. "This is the one. Kagome Higurashi. It had to be surgically removed almost immediately after her discovery. If it had stayed, it would have continued blocking the neurotransmitters and killed her."

"Yeah," Inuyasha said, making Miroku stifle a laugh as he approached them. As if Inuyasha had any clue what a neurotransmitter was.

"What d'you think?" Miroku asked when Inuyasha glared at him, for he had apparently not muffled his amusement enough.

Inuyasha continued to glare at Miroku for a moment more before turning his gaze down to the bullet and looking at it more closely. "On a basic visual, I'd say we've got the same bullets. We'll give it to Naraku to find out for sure."

"Not surprising," Miroku commented. "Assuming we've got the same bullets, that means the same gun, which probably means the same shooter. We just have to figure out why Kagome wasn't shot until an hour later."

The man who had showed Inuyasha in looked between them curiously. "Someone else was shot too?"

"None of your business," Inuyasha snapped. He took out the same type of evidence bag he had used earlier and placed the bullet from Kagome inside. "We're taking this. How's Kagome?"

"Still in a coma," the man said. "She could be for months, the rest of her life even."

"Yeah?" Inuyasha said, inwardly groaning at the thought. His only witness couldn't help him. "Well if she ever wakes up, I want to be notified immediately. I'll leave my number at the front desk. I don't care what time of day it is; I'd better be the first one notified. You got that?"

The man nodded.

"Good," Inuyasha said. "Let's go, Miroku."

Inuyasha was good to his word. He and Miroku went down the seven flights of stairs to reach the ground floor and left Inuyasha's cell phone number with the secretary who'd been having the shouting match the day before. It was only as they were getting back into the car that they spoke to each other.

"Where to now?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha grimaced as he started the car. "To hell."

---

Inuyasha and Miroku didn't even bother to flip their badges. They were too well known around there to need such. Miroku was questioned several times by the concerned women about what had happened to his arm, and he told them specifically about how he had almost been killed, including details Inuyasha didn't know had even happened.

Taking the right hallway, Inuyasha left his friend behind, as he usually did when at the crime lab. Unless it was something serious or something that affected Miroku personally, he usually preferred to flirt while his superior got the dirty work.

Inuyasha hated talking to Naraku.

Taking another right into Naraku's office, Inuyasha was disappointed to find the man at his desk. He intended to throw the bullet onto Naraku's desk and simply leave, but he only got halfway through his plan. The bullet was on Naraku's desk and Inuyasha was turning around before Naraku's sinister drawl called him back.

"What is this?"

Inuyasha turned around with an annoyed look plastered onto his face. "A bullet."

"Clearly," Naraku said. "To whom does it belong?"

"Kagome Higurashi," Inuyasha said. "Call me when you've got something."

He had turned around again when Naraku said, "And just what exactly should I do with this?"

Just as before, Inuyasha faced Naraku, annoyance clear. "Use your imagination."

Naraku seemed to be enjoying Inuyasha's snappish remarks. "Inuyasha, are you feeling all right?"

The FBI agent glared. "Fantastic."

Naraku smirked at Inuyasha's sarcasm. "Just missing that special someone?"

"What is it with you and getting on me about women?"

"I find it remarkable that a woman could stand to be within ten feet of you."

"I find it remarkable that you still have a job."

"Sesshomaru gave it to me."

"Yeah, well we all know what I think of Sesshomaru."

"I'll be sure to tell him that."

"I'll tell him myself."

Naraku's smirk widened a bit, but instead of bickering with Inuyasha anymore, he picked up the bag the bullet was in and threw it back at Inuyasha. "Why don't you go talk to whoever's in Weapons? I'm sure they'll be happy to give you a match. It'll just take a moment."

"Get off your lazy ass and take it to them yourself!"

"I'd hate to deprive you of the opportunity." Naraku leaned back in his chair, looking over his cluttered desk. "Besides, I might accidentally… lose it."

Inuyasha glared at him again before walking out of the room. "Lazy bastard."

As it was, Kagura Kouji, the CSI who had ordered Inuyasha and Miroku off the crime scene when they had first arrived, was the person in Weapons. She looked just as thrilled as Inuyasha about his presence in the lab.

"Tell me if this matches the bullet found in Arisa's head." Like he had done to Naraku, Inuyasha tossed the bullet at her.

"You idiot!" Kagura said, reaching out to catch the bullet. "You could compromise the evidence, tossing it around like that!"

"Yeah, yeah. Your boss wasn't complaining; you shouldn't be either."

_Naraku didn't complain about that…_ Inuyasha noted suddenly. _Strange. He'd normally find any reason to criticize me._

Kagura carefully removed the bullet from the bag Inuyasha had it in and walked over to a two-sided microscope, placing it underneath. She turned the bullet around several times before standing up and nodding.

"It's the same kind."

Inuyasha walked over and leaned down to see inside.

"On the left is the bullet from Arisa, the right from Kagome," Kagura instructed. "They're a match."

Inuyasha scrutinized every inch of the two bullets just to make sure. Kagura was right, however, and he stood up straight, nodding. "Keep those safe."

Kagura sneered. "What the hell do you think I do around here? Let valuable evidence sit and rot?"

"Something like that," Inuyasha commented as he walked out.

He ignored the ugly looks he got as he passed down the hallways, continuing confidently through the building. He and Naraku's team had never gotten along very well, even when Naraku wasn't heading it. When he reached the lobby, Miroku was telling a new group of girls his dramatic story about saving a twelve-year-old girl from a rabid madman's shooting spree. Inuyasha unapologetically grabbed Miroku's injured arm and jerked him away from the women, causing Miroku to yelp in pain.

"It's a good thing the cop was a bad shot," Inuyasha commented as he led Miroku back to the corvette. "You get out of that cast soon. I dunno how much more of your lies I can take."

"I wasn't _lying_," Miroku said, wrenching himself out of Inuyasha's grasp, causing another _ping_ to fly through his arm. The hospital must have given him a loose cast because they were mad at him. "I was _exaggerating_."

"Yeah," Inuyasha said in a tone to humor Miroku.

Miroku nodded and got in the passenger seat of Inuyasha's car. As Inuyasha started it, however, Miroku looked at him. "Can I drive?"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "With that arm? And when the doctor told you no?"

"I'm less of a risk even like this than you on the road with anything that moves."

Inuyasha blinked, his face void of emotion. "No."

As his superior drove out of the parking lot at his usual dangerous pace, Miroku considered telling him how much he had been reminded of Sesshomaru at that moment. In the end, he decided against it. Inuyasha was behind the wheel of the car that Miroku was in. Living was nice.

---

Miroku prided himself in being quite fluent in the language of Inuyasha Takahashi. He knew that when Inuyasha went from calm to angry in a moment's notice, he needed to keep pestering. He had hit an embarrassing subject and was on the verge of finding more blackmail information. He knew that when Inuyasha was silent, he was defying the gods and using his brain. He knew that when Inuyasha was really angry he would abandon petty insults, like calling Sesshomaru by his real name instead of Fluffy. He also knew that even when that happened, Inuyasha hadn't reached the height of his anger abilities. It was when Inuyasha spoke calmly and firmly that he needed to start running. Miroku had only witnessed this terrifying experience once, and someone had ended up dead.

Despite his ability to predict Inuyasha's every thought, word, mood, and action, Miroku was still occasionally caught by surprise. He was therefore taken aback when Inuyasha pulled into Miroku's driveway and ordered him out of the car.

"What?" Miroku said in confusion.

"You heard me," Inuyasha said. "Get of my car."

"But why?"

"I'm going to go do something."

"Do something."

"Yeah."

"On duty."

"Yeah."

"And I can't be there?"

"No. Go check and see what's happened about the kid's broadcast or something."

"Why can't I come with you? Is it Kikyo?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "No."

"Then why can't I come?"

Inuyasha looked at his friend in annoyance. "Because I can't trust you."

Inuyasha had not said this in a tone that knew Miroku would be hurt, and so his dark-haired partner immediately followed where he was going. "You are going to go see a woman, though."

"Not exactly."

"Not exactly."

"No, not exactly. Stop repeating me, dammit!"

"You're going to a woman's house."

"Why are you so sure this has to do with a woman?"

"Because I know every secret in your life. The only thing you can't seem to trust me about, and I really have no idea why, is women."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. _No idea why?_

"So where are you going, Inuyasha? You can't force me out of this car."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.

Miroku wouldn't put it past Inuyasha to do so simply because Miroku had said he couldn't. "I'm injured. You can't hurt an injured person further."

"You can kill them and then not have to worry about them at all."

"Ah, but you like me too much to do that."

Again Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that!" Miroku said, laughing. "Come on, you can't hide it from me. Where are you going?"

Inuyasha glared at Miroku and gave an angry sighed. "I'm going to the Higurashi mansion."

Miroku looked surprised. "Why?"

"I want to process the crime scenes again."

"Don't trust Naraku?"

"Not in the slightest."

"So why can't I come?"

"Because we would split up, and you would either take the bathroom with Kagome's personal effects or her bedroom with her lingerie."

Miroku's eyes danced. "You can't hold me back now."

"You can't come without your equipment."

"It's inside the house."

"So go get it."

"Surprisingly, Inuyasha, I do think."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I won't leave you."

"Liar."

"Only a little."

"RPS. If I win, I get to come. If I lose, I still get to come."

"What the hell kind of rules are those?" Inuyasha said angrily.

"The injured partner's rules. And Sesshomaru's if I call him."

"You traitorous bastard. You wouldn't dare."

"I'm not on such bad terms with your brother."

"_Half_-brother."

"Are you in or not?"

"Why the hell should I play if you're just going to come either way?"

"Because it makes me happy inside."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You're intolerable."

Miroku smiled and prepared for rock, paper, scissors as well as he could with one hand in a cast.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

Inuyasha was angry again. "What the hell is that?"

"A bomb."

"There's no bomb in rock, paper, scissors!"

"That's the beauty of it. I always win."

"Yeah, well my rock's gonna smash your bomb!"

"And set it off, which will in turn blow up your rock. Clever, Inuyasha. So this is how you earned your degree in criminal justice. Blow everyone up so long as you win."

"You have five seconds to get your ass out of my car."

"You could get your car out of my ass." Miroku's innocent smile was his favorite way to infuriate his superior.

"NOW, MIROKU!"

"Yes, mother."

Miroku laughed when he was barely out of the car and Inuyasha floored his way out of the driveway and down the street. He walked up to his front door and let himself in, taking his cell phone out as he did so. He'd call Inuyasha and threaten to call Sesshomaru, and half an hour later Inuyasha would pull back up into the driveway in his haughty mood. It was times like these that Miroku loved his job.

---

A/N:

I just came from my kitchen. My mum's looking through a magazine, and on one page there are all these signs to put out in your garden, and most of them are things you always want to say to your plants that aren't cooperating with you. I just wanted to tell you all that my favorite was the most simple there, but the most effective: GROW DAMN IT!

So yeah. **MY TOUR OF THE CRIME LAB IS MONDAY!** YEAH! I'll be sure to tell all of you how it went on my next update. I'm SOOOOOOOOO excited about this!

Oriental food rocks my socks. Orange chicken is the best. Yum, yum. I had oriental food for dinner tonight. -happiness-

Next chapter Inuyasha and Miroku are probably going to spend most, if not all, of their time at Kagome's house going over it again. … Yeah, I'll somehow make them stay at Kagome's the whole time, because that's the last thing I have planned for that day. Hmm… this'll be fun. : )

Oh yeah, and Touran's line about the .22s is totally credited to CSI. I heart that show.

Thankx for reading, but since you've bothered to read it, take a moment (or several, since long reviews rock) to review it and tell me your opinions. Thankx again!

Riles

**PS:** Just to be clear, long reviews really are the best. _Especially_ the critical ones. I'm not even joking. For the most part, people always say that it was a great chapter and they can't wait for me to update again. I like hearing that, of course, but don't be afraid to tell me what was _wrong_ with the chapter too. If something sucked, tell me. If you found something funny, I want to hear it. If you cried, I want to know that too. Just letting you know that the more detailed responses you give me, the better I can write future chapters. : )


	6. Reprocessing

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. In fact, I don't own anything. So no one can sue me. Mwaha.

---

"So do I get her lingerie or her tampons?"

Inuyasha took his time glaring at Miroku. He had known it was a bad idea to bring him along. "You can take the bathroom. I'd be more afraid of you in the room where Kagome sleeps."

"You just want it to yourself," Miroku pouted.

"You would need it more than I do."

Miroku looked affronted. "What, do you think flirting with women is as far as I go?"

"No, you also grope," Inuyasha said, leading Miroku up the stairs. He had decided, after looking at a diagram of the house, that this portion of the upstairs was Kagome's home. There was another section dedicated to what must have been her little brother, Sota, and a smaller portion for any guests. There was a balcony, but it could only be reached through a hallway in between Kagome and the guest's bathrooms. Mrs. Higurashi's wing was downstairs to the right of the entryway, and the rest of the usual household rooms were spread about the downstairs.

"You underestimate me," Miroku said as they reached the bathroom.

"Just process," Inuyasha said as he proceeded further down the hallway to Kagome's bedroom.

The room was just as he had left it, he was pleased to note. Sometimes burglars had bad habits of stealing valuable evidence in abandoned mansions, especially if there was police tape around it. This meant that it was a crime scene and no one was allowed inside; therefore, no one could catch them in the act.

Inuyasha bent down and opened the briefcase he had brought with him, containing the supply of items required for a basic crime scene investigation. He paused here, thinking back through the steps of processing a crime scene. He was going to have to improvise, seeing as there were no witnesses or bodies and photos and had already been taken. Everything was already done, but he was lacking confidence in Naraku's team's ability to properly perform the final step. All he had to do here was reprocess everything, which sounded easier than it actually was.

Inuyasha's ring tone began playing. Slightly annoyed that he was being interrupted before he had even gotten started, Inuyasha reached into his pocket and flipped open his phone, growling at the name that appeared on the caller ID.

"You couldn't walk over one room?"

_"I'm far too lazy for that kind of strenuous work,"_ Miroku said. _"I just wanted to keep the phone on speaker so that if one of us found something, we wouldn't have to stop the other's investigation to share the news."_

"Clever," Inuyasha said sardonically, "but I doubt two minutes would be much difference."

_"It will be if we have to process a secondary crime scene."_

Inuyasha groaned. He had forgotten about that. "I'm surprised you even know what a secondary crime scene is. I didn't know you paid attention in college."

_"As it turned out, the prettiest girl in my college was also the smartest. I had to start paying attention in class to have a decent conversation with her."_

"What kind of secondary crime scene are you thinking? The house somewhere?" Inuyasha pulled out the fingerprint powder from his briefcase and a brush, placed his cell phone on speaker, and began to process the room. If they were going to process a secondary crime scene—that is, any other place worthy of investigation, such as the house, school, and work places—they were going to be pulling more than a double.

_"You tell me. It's your theory that Arisa wasn't killed in the bathroom."_

"I doubt it," Inuyasha said. "Arisa has her own wing downstairs. Why would she need to use Kagome's bathroom? I read Hachi's report; there was no record of any plumbing problems. It's too odd that she would be in Kagome's bathroom when she has her own."

_"Could she have been starting a shower in her own bathroom and was shot, then moved up to Kagome's?"_

"Why move Arisa to Kagome's bathroom if she was murdered in her own?"

_"Who's to say? Oh, I found the tampons."_

"Just what is it you're processing?" Inuyasha said skeptically. Before Miroku could answer, however, his phone beeped at him. "Hey, Miroku, hold on. I've got another call."

_"Who is it?"_

Inuyasha set down what he was doing and walked over to the bed, where he had placed his phone. He cursed and switched lines without answering Miroku. "What the hell do _you_ want?"

_"To know what has become of my little brother."_

"_Half_-brother."

_"Of course."_

"I'm at the Higurashi house."

_"What could you possibly be doing there?"_

"Processing."

Sesshomaru was silent over the phone for a moment as Miroku walked through the door, amusement and curiosity mixed into one expression. _"CSI have already been there. You have better things to do with your time than try and outdo them at their profession. Your feud with Naraku could be costing you a killer."_

"I read their report," Inuyasha said, now grateful that, aside from Kikyo, he had no life. Miroku had not yet had time to read the CSI report because he had been otherwise occupied, and this left Inuyasha one step ahead. "No prints that weren't from the Higurashi's or friends I've already identified. No bloodstains anywhere but the obvious. And they didn't bother to process the rest of the house, mansion or not. With a rich family like this, it was probably murder from robbery. The lack of evidence they found suggests someone much more focused on not being caught in murder."

_"And you find it impossible that someone killed the Higurashis specifically for that purpose—to have them dead?"_

"No," Inuyasha said. "And from the people I've interviewed, I'd find it quite likely. But I do think Naraku is an incompetent bastard, and I still stand by the fact that he needs to get fired for letting Kagome go to Touran. To not realize that a living girl was still alive and send her to a coroner is strong evidence that he obviously isn't fit for—"

_"Inuyasha."_ Inuyasha was silenced. _"Do what you wish. But if you're doing CSI work on FBI time, you're not getting paid for it."_

If only Sesshomaru could have seen Inuyasha's face. "Fine."

Inuyasha didn't touch his phone, letting it automatically switch back to Miroku's cell phone when Sesshomaru hung up.

"You're in a good mood," Miroku commented.

"How could you tell?" Inuyasha snapped bitterly. "I'm doing work for a case and he refuses to pay me for it! Damned fluffball."

"Just think of all the people you're helping," Miroku suggested with a wry smile, knowing this would console Inuyasha none.

"They should learn to help themselves and not get shot," Inuyasha said. He returned to his fingerprint powder and then looked over at Miroku. "What the hell are you still doing here? Go back to the bathroom!"

Inuyasha went over every inch of Kagome's room, determined to find some kind of foreign fingerprint there; he'd even settle for a partial. The more he went over Kagome's room with the black powder, however, the more he began to realize what had really gone on the night Arisa Higurashi was murdered.

_"Do you think,"_ Miroku's voice came over Inuyasha's cell phone, _"that there's any chance of suicide? Kagome kills Arisa, brings her up to her bathroom, then tries to kill herself?"_

"No," Inuyasha said, now confident of this fact. It was definitely homicide. "You should see this room, Miroku. It was nice and neat before, and now it's black. But I haven't gotten a single print in this entire room. It's a girl's bedroom, her sanctuary, and she didn't touch anything in it? Even her hairbrush is clean, though it's obviously been used."

_"Cleanup,"_ Miroku said in understanding.

"I don't know what to do with this room. I can check for blood, but I doubt anything's going to be there. Anything worthy of note would have been found by CSI, however incompetent they are. They surely couldn't miss another blood spatter or anything of the sort. How's the bathroom coming?"

_"Prints galore. I'll have Hachi send them out so it doesn't go by Naraku. These are all probably Kagome's, though, her friends, her brother, her mother. Nothing out of the ordinary."_

"Just because it's probable doesn't mean that's how it is," Inuyasha said. "It was _probable_ that I'd find _some_ prints in here, but look at how that turned out."

_"Well, since we're both doubting any blood worth notice is there, check for hair fibers."_

Inuyasha groaned. "Now I know why I never became a CSI."

_"Why's that?"_

"Too much precision in this line of work. I want to throw someone in prison after figuring out that two plus two equals four. CSI have to get the clues. I want to piece them together."

_"And you do. As I recall, Sesshomaru said that you're not getting paid for this."_

"How the hell do you expect me to piece clues together that haven't been gathered?"

"_Well, if there _are_ no clues to be gathered—"_

"Don't even joke," Inuyasha said. "There's _always_ a clue."

There was silence on the other line, something that surprised Inuyasha.

"Miroku? You okay?"

_"I'm fine. Inuyasha, I've printed and sprayed luminol all over this place, but nothing seems unusual. No shoe prints either, I already looked. Hair is all over the place; I took a few that might useful, but this is a bathroom after all. I'm starting to think there really is nothing else here except the mess Kagome left behind."_

"The mess," Inuyasha said, taking that in. "That further helps the case that this room was cleaned up. The entertainment room down the hall? That was messy too. This room alone is clean, spotless. I'm thinking there was a struggle here, and the killer cleaned up afterwards to try and remove evidence of their presence."

_"But they forgot something."_

"What?"

_"They left the bodies."_

Inuyasha nodded. "I'll spray this room, see what else comes up. You should go ahead and start on the other room. The movie that was paused indicates she was in there shortly preceding her death. We need to figure out how she got back to her bedroom."

_"Done."_

Inuyasha took out the luminol spray and, like the fingerprint powder, began to engulf the room in it. He had completed this task twenty minutes later, but only the spot where Kagome had been found glowed blue. Highly annoyed now, Inuyasha returned the luminol to its rightful place in his briefcase and collapsed on Kagome's bed. He was _not_ looking forward to getting on his knees and searching the carpet for microscopic hair slices that were likely covering the place. A girl did live here after all.

Since he was already lying there, Inuyasha began with her bed. Most of the hair he located on the pillow alone, but there were also some down the bed where Kagome might have collapsed from exhaustion, just as Inuyasha had. Resigning himself to the inevitable, Inuyasha crawled off the bed and searched for anything out of the ordinary, taking several of his handy evidence bags around with him. He found more hairs, though tried to be selective about which were probably Kagome's and which might have been someone else's. The most interesting thing he found, which admittedly was not very interesting at all, was a microscopic portion of what looked to be a latex glove near Kagome's desk. Comparing them to the pair he had on, they seemed to be the same substance. This was clearly another sign that Naraku and his team were incompetent, leaving traces of their presence behind. In Inuyasha's opinion, which had formed at the very moment he came to this conclusion, CSI should be like ghosts, never leaving evidence they were there.

It was while Inuyasha was down on his knees that he noticed a discrepancy. The mattress of Kagome's bed was raised slightly in one spot. It was curious, like something had been stuffed underneath it.

His heart raced as he stood up and lifted the mattress, expecting the gun, the cleaning supplies used to clean the room, anything to shove in Naraku's face. Instead he came upon a leather-bound book, the word _Journal_ typed across the cover. Inuyasha gave an aggravated sigh as he lifted up the diary and set the mattress back down.

"I've got a diary," Inuyasha said to his phone.

_"That's really good,"_ Miroku said. _"Anything of interest?"_

"I don't know! I don't want to read some teenage girl's diary."

_"She's not a teenager…"_

"Close enough. She could be my daughter."

_"Stop exaggerating. She's only a few years younger than you."_

"Yeah, well she looks thirteen. Probably writes thirteen-year-old stuff in her diary too."

_"Since when have you taken to insulting the victims?"_

"Since I had to process this room so damn thoroughly."

_"Find anything else?"_

"Piece of latex, by the looks of it. Naraku left it when doing his crappy excuse of processing."

_"Look through the diary. I'm serious, Inuyasha, and I know what face you're giving me right now. There may be something useful in it."_

Inuyasha growled at the phone and sat down on Kagome's bed, flipping the diary open to a random entry. He hated Miroku. He really did.

December 16 

_Nothing unusual really happened today. Then again, nothing unusual ever happens to me. I really wish it would. I beat Onigumo in debate again. He never wins against me. He really is a good debater, though; he'd be an amazing prosecutor. I ate lunch with Sango today, and then everyone went to Buyo's after classes. Ayame tagged along again and got mad at me. I don't know why she doesn't like me so much. I mean, I know she's in love with Koga—which is really the cutest thing ever—but I have no interest in Koga. I'd sooner date Hojo than Koga, but of course I'd never tell anyone that! Well, I'd tell Sango, but that's all. I still wouldn't even date Hojo. He's very nice and sweet and all, but he's just… not what I'm looking for, you know? I can't really see myself with a gentleman. It's nice that he holds open doors and stuff, but I get kind of flustered when that happens. It's so unusual nowadays that it's nice, but very awkward. At least I'm not as bad as Sango, though. When she dated Kuranoske, she used to punch him whenever he acted gentlemanly around her! She's all for the "I can do everything myself" attitude. She's always been that way, kind of forceful and a feminist. I guess that's why we get along so well! I'm not quite to the extremes that she is, but we've got the same things going on. At least we don't get into many—_

Why didn't Miroku just lock him up with Naraku? At least Naraku was a man. Inuyasha was listening to the random thoughts of a twenty-four-year-old that was writing like she was still a teenager. Inuyasha flipped to the last entry, dated the day before Kagome's hospitalization, and skimmed a few lines about beating Onigumo again before shutting the journal and placing it in an evidence bag. Maybe when he was bored to tears he would look through it again. Until that time, he had better things to do—preferably things that would get him _paid_.

Inuyasha closed his briefcase, grabbed his cell phone, and left Kagome's room, leaving the _real_ CSI to clean up his mess when they returned. He walked into the entertainment room, but was forced to stop only a step inside. Miroku had already blackened the place with fingerprint powder.

"Find enough prints?"

"More than I need," Miroku commented without turning around. "Anything in the journal?"

"Plenty," Inuyasha said, which caused Miroku to look at him, "but the hell if I'm gonna read it all."

"Of course you will," Miroku said, as if there was no other way it could be done. "What did you find?"

"Yeah, right. I didn't find anything."

Miroku looked confused. "How can you know there's plenty of information without finding anything?"

"Because it's seventy-six pages long! The one I read was some boring crap about her pathetically boring life."

"Was that so described by her or by you?"

"Both."

"Well, her life certainly is interesting now. Help me process this room, would you? You're being _boring_ by just standing there."

"Go to hell."

Miroku chuckled but said nothing.

A complete processing of the entertainment room revealed far too many fingerprints to count, just as many hair fibers, no blood, and a lacking of anything that wasn't _boring_. Inuyasha and Miroku picked up their kits and left the room, stretching several tense muscles as they went. They did a once over of the other rooms in the mansion, checking for anything that might be suspicious without processing the entire house. Nothing struck them as unusual, and since they were far too exhausted to reprocess a picture frame, they unanimously decided none of the other rooms were secondary crime scenes.

"Well, this was a waste of time," Miroku commented as he lazily collapsed onto a couch in the Higurashi's living room.

"Was not," Inuyasha defended immediately as he sat across from Miroku, the strain from hours of intense concentration written across his face. "We found stuff."

"I was hoping for something more enlightening," Miroku said.

"Like the gun?" Inuyasha said.

"Oh, was it never recovered?"

"That's right. You haven't read the report."

"I have far too many important things to do with my time than to sit around reading paperwork." Miroku smiled knowingly. "Especially when you'll read it and can say the exact same thing in two sentences that it took the CSI four pages to explain."

Inuyasha took his time glaring at Miroku. "Friends shouldn't use each other for their own selfish gain."

Miroku's smile didn't falter, but the twinkle in his eyes disappeared. "Then neither you nor I have many friends, do we?"

"Feh," Inuyasha said, repositioning himself in the chair to hide his discomfort. "We both have friends. They're just the friends that let us walk all over them."

"That's true," Miroku said, and Inuyasha immediately knew his thoughts had wandered to Hachi. "At least I only do it for women, though."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I only manipulate people so that I'm happy in the end, which usually involves a woman," Miroku explained. "You're never happy, so your only excuse is that you enjoy making other people miserable."

Once more Inuyasha enjoyed glaring at Miroku. "Just because I don't _act_ happy doesn't mean I'm _not_."

"Ah, so the impenetrable beast has a heart!"

"You've got one hell of a mouth, you know that?"

"You tell me often."

"So fix it!"

"Inuyasha, I think I lied."

"Join the club."

"I don't antagonize people just for women. I find annoying you fun."

There was silence.

"I don't know if I should feel relieved that you don't think of me as a romantic interest or pissed that you like annoying me."

"Probably the latter since you know I don't like you."

"Which 'like' are you talking about?"

"Oh… both."

"Thanks," Inuyasha said sardonically.

"See how fun annoying you is?"

"I think I missed it."

"Pity."

"Don't pity me!"

"Did I say I pitied you?"

"Yes!"

"No, I said the word 'pity'. The word alone means nothing."

"Of course it means something! Everything means something!"

"Well if that doesn't go against one of the basic rules of investigation."

"'Not everything you see is of relevance,'" Inuyasha quoted mockingly.

"Ah, but then there's part two," Miroku said. "'Not everything you don't see is of relevance.'"

"That's stupid," Inuyasha said. "What's the point in that? How the hell are you supposed to know what you don't see at a crime scene? If I don't see a stapler at a crime scene, how the hell am I supposed to know if it's relevant?"

"I imagine that rule is more for the obvious things," Miroku said. "If you have a victim shot but there's no gun at the crime scene, as our victim was, obviously the gun is imperative. It's just that some things aren't worth the time of investigation."

"Like what?"

"Like a missing wallet. Just because you find a victim without a wallet doesn't mean the wallet is of any importance. The location isn't always relevant to the crime. It could have been a crime of opportunity, the victim could have been moved postmortem. Even something like a bullet casing isn't always important to find a—Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha had sat up so straight that Miroku stopped mid-sentence. As it occasionally did, the lightbulb that was so dim in Inuyasha's mind seemed to have been sparked. Inuyasha sat in silence for several moments as information raced about to form a connection. Then, quite suddenly, Inuyasha pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number, then stuck the phone to his ear. Miroku gave him a look, and Inuyasha was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't even protest to putting the call on speakerphone.

_"Tsuzitani,"_ came Naraku's voice over the phone.

"Yo, Naraku," Inuyasha said. "In your report on the Higurashi case, you never mentioned the gun, bullets, or bullet casings. You didn't even say there was an absence of them."

_"Quite obviously if I did not say we had found them, they were not there."_

"No gun?"

_"No."_

"No bullets?"

_"Are you deaf? Nothing was there!"_

"No bullet casings either?"

Naraku hung up.

Inuyasha would have been shocked and angry at this event normally, but his brain allowed him no emotion, only adrenaline.

"What've you got?" Miroku asked.

"Nothing was found, Miroku! It either means a dump or the killer still has it!"

"Which means more evidence to be found."

Inuyasha pushed a number on speed dial and waited for only a few moments before someone picked up.

_"Takahashi."_

"Fluffs, I want a ten man search party down to Higurashi mansion stat. Have them ready to search the surrounding area, and search it damn well too. We're not looking for something big."

_"Do remember that I'm your superior."_

"Just get it done," Inuyasha snapped.

_"Inuyasha."_

Inuyasha hated authority. "Yeah, yeah, I've got a lead, so let's make it snappy!"

_"Really?"_

"Yeah!"

_"What might this lead be?"_

"The weapon was dumped or still in the killer's possession!"

There was silence on the phone.

_"Is that all?"_

Inuyasha glared at his phone, and had looks been able to kill, he was sure he would have sent death through the phone line. "What the hell does that mean?"

_"That is not a _lead_, Inuyasha. Anyone who read Naraku's report could have told me that. You are heading an investigation, Inuyasha. Why don't you start to investigate?"_

Inuyasha seethed, but Miroku kept him silent with a warning look. Miroku knew how Sesshomaru worked. If he thought he had won a battle, he would give Inuyasha what he desired. Inuyasha would fume and rage afterward, but they would get what they wanted.

_"Ten men will be there within the hour. Start doing your job or I'm going to fire you."_

With Inuyasha's bubble burst, Miroku knew the foul mood that was upon him. He stood up and stretched as Inuyasha began his ranting, something about "that fluffball bastard". They would get the search party here and go through the neighborhoods, hoping for a stroke of luck. Miroku wasn't counting on anything, though; if their killer had cleaned up after themselves so well, it was highly unlikely they had dumped anything relative to the crime. Then after that exhaustive search was over, which would certainly take hours because of Inuyasha's determination if nothing else, Miroku would force Inuyasha to return home and sleep. Miroku never really asked Inuyasha's permission to do things; he just sort of did them. As such, he had not told his superior what his plans were for the next day. He did know, however, that while Inuyasha would never admit it, he would be grateful for Miroku's actions after returning to Shikon University.

---

A/N:

Oh wow. How long it's been. The last time I updated, I still hadn't gone on that tour yet? O.o Well, the tour was great. I was inspired. I loved it. When I'm 18, I'll go shadow a CSI for a day and see what it's really like. Yeah, it was an experience.

I believe I should apologize here. RL is a troublesome thing, but I really haven't been doing FF. It's not that I don't want to, but I just… don't. And I apologize. I have so many fics right now unfinished. I shouldn't start them and not finish them… my problem is that when I get excited about an idea, I drop everything else to pursue that one, and then I have ten fics incomplete. I'm going to try to get these finished, though, you guys!

SASUKE UCHIHA! … Just wanted to see who'd give a reaction from that. I was thinking about writing a Naruto fic actually… and I had another idea for an Inuyasha fic… dang it, I need to stop this! But do you want to hear the summary I made up for the Inuyasha fic? It would be such fun to write knowing the dark secrets behind everything! But NO MORE FICS! I have to focus!

_With the guilt of her friends' deaths still haunting her, Kagome transfers to Shikon High hoping for a new start. But no matter where she goes, she can't forget those friends… those faces… and their killer may be closer to her than she realizes._

Next chapter… I think (but I can't remember because I'm exhausted) Inuyasha and Miroku split up to actually do some investigating. Characters from earlier chapters come back in, and Inuyasha and Miroku have to start deciding who they trust and who they don't.

Thankx for reading, but since you've bothered to read it, take a moment (or several, since long reviews rock) to review it and tell me your opinions. Thankx again!

Riles


	7. The Murderous Man the Loquacious Lady

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. In fact, I don't own anything. So no one can sue me. Mwaha.

---

_What the hell is that?_

He knew what this was. He was sure he did. Somewhere, in the depths of his mind, it was registering as something important….

_"Who let the dogs out? Woof, woof, woof, woof! Who let the dogs out?"_

"Ah, shit!" Inuyasha said, throwing the covers away from him and reaching over to his cell phone. He felt his hand grasping it in the dark and immediately flipped it open, shoving it next to his ear. "What?"

_"Wakie, wakie!"_

Inuyasha was silent. "Hell no."

_"I know what you're thinking, but don't hang up,"_ Miroku said. _"We have a special job to do today."_

"Yeah, the one we do _every_ day," Inuyasha said. "Why the hell are you calling me at—" It occurred to Inuyasha that he didn't know what time it was, "—whatever time it is?"

_"It's ten o'clock,"_ Miroku said. _"And time for _you _to be getting up."_

"Ten? Is that even on a clock?"

_"At least you're awake enough to be joking around. C'mon! Time to go to school!"_

"I already did that," Inuyasha said, yawning. He sat up in his bed and wiped his eyes, well aware that Miroku would pester him until he got up if he didn't do so himself.

_"If you're a good boy, I'll even let you punch someone."_

Inuyasha was further intrigued by this statement, though the words that slipped from his lips sounded oddly like, "Go to hell."

_"Now that I know you're awake, the next step is actually to get out of the bed."_

Inuyasha looked around for cameras. He was sure Miroku had installed him, the way he just _knew_ what Inuyasha was doing at all times, but he had yet to be successful in locating them.

_"Hurry up, Inuyasha, we don't have all day. In fact, you only have half an hour."_

"Then I'm going back to bed for twenty-nine more minutes."

_"Ha, but you can't go back to bed now. We both know that. So get up and start getting dressed while I tell you about your day."_

"Since when did _you_ become _my_ superior?" Inuyasha said, placing his cell phone on speaker.

_"Just listen. I've arranged with the nice student administrator—see how kindness pays off?—for you to pretend to be Kagome for today."_

Inuyasha stopped midway to his closet. "I am _not_ cross-dressing."

Miroku laughed. _"However entertaining that would be to see, you misunderstand me. Your job is to go around and participate in all her classes, ask questions, interview people, the works. I promised her you wouldn't cause any trouble, though."_

"I take no responsibility for your promises," Inuyasha said, now peering into his closet. He was sure there was something clean in here somewhere….

_"You also don't do what I say, but look? You're already out of bed."_

Once more Inuyasha peered about for the cameras. "I'm just going to do my job."

_"Yes, and part of your job is to 'keep the peace' or something like that."_

"I've always disagreed with the rules of my job."

_"I've always disagreed with the qualifications to get your job."_

"What the hell does that mean?"

_"It means that Kikyo probably did laundry for you again, so check the dryer."_

Maybe he had somehow programmed Inuyasha's cell phone to be a camera. He grabbed his phone and took it with him to the garage, listening to Miroku's pointless babble as he tried to avoid Inuyasha's question. He opened the dryer door and, as Miroku said, found dry clothes inside. A note on top of the dryer read: _It's a good thing I love you so much._

Inuyasha smirked. What would he do without this woman? She was so devoted to him and they hardly saw each other. She was just what he needed.

_"I was right."_

They were in his garage too. Or maybe it really was the cell phone…

_"Have you been listening to me at _all_?"_

"Why the hell would I do that?"

Miroku gave a lamented sigh. _"Try and pay attention, Inuyasha. You can't stir up trouble today, and take adequate notes during your interviews."_

_Yeah, right._ Inuyasha turned and went back inside the house.

_"Don't bother the teachers especially because they can kick you out of the classroom and you might miss something important. Most of Kagome's classes today are the same as they were the day she was shot. Be watching everyone—students, teachers, skippers—"_

"Skippers?" Inuyasha said.

_"The kids who skip class. If Kagome were to go to the bathroom, she could meet one of them."_

"Miroku, what college student _doesn't_ skip class?"

_"Kagome. She's never missed any of her classes."_

"Until now."

_"Thank you for that cheerful reminder."_

Inuyasha began getting dressed. "Look, Miroku, I've interviewed people a million times—"

_"And how many times have you gone without punching the suspect in question?"_

Inuyasha could count them on one hand. "Just don't be breathing down my neck today. While I interrogate people, you just 'keep the peace'. Isn't that the term you used?"

_"As much as you know I would love to clean up your messes, you have to be a good boy today because I _won't _be there."_

Inuyasha stopped with one leg in his jeans. "What?"

_"You heard me. Finish getting dressed."_

Damn those cameras! "What do you mean you won't be there? You're leaving me to deal with those stupid college kids _alone_?"

_"Don't complain. I'm pretending to be Arisa today. You know you would much rather do the college than sit in a business office."_

But Inuyasha would never admit it. "Great. So instead of breathing down my neck all day, you'll be _texting_ me all day."

_"Something like that. Hurry up now, you've got twenty minutes to be at the college."_

"I thought I didn't have to _leave_ until ten thirty."

_"And doing math this early too? My, my, you're in a good mood."_

"It's a damn good thing Starbucks is next to the college."

_"What would you do without your caffeine?"_

"Get a headache," Inuyasha said. The addiction was annoying when he was too late to run by a coffee shop, and he never had the time to deal with headaches and quit. Who would want to anyway? It was soda, coffee, _caffeine_! Why else would God have made it if not to give him back his snappy tongue in the mornings? "I thought you said I could punch someone today."

_"If you're good."_

"How you going to make that one work out for me?"

_"If you do your interviews right, I'm sure one of her classmates of suspicious character will go to a bar tonight."_

"You manipulative bastard."

_"I wish I had a sibling that was as easy to provoke as you."_

Inuyasha took a moment to seethe and then reflected Miroku's words. "Any word on the kid's broadcast? The little brother?"

_"Nothing yet. Hachi will call me as soon as anything's found out. Listen, I have to go. I was using Arisa's break to get you up. I'll meet up with you at Kagome's house since both of them end up there at some point during the day."_

"Whatever," Inuyasha said before hanging up the phone.

Inuyasha, who had finished getting dressed during the phone call, stumbled around until he found his kitchen, rummaging about for something edible. Finding nothing appealing, he decided to grab a snack while getting his coffee. This day was not off to a good start, and he had the most ominous feeling it wouldn't end well either.

Inuyasha returned to his room and stared at the bed longingly for a moment, then transferred his attention to the radio. He turned the volume to full blast and continued his morning routine, which consisted of wandering around his house until he saw something he needed to do.

It looked like Kikyo had cleaned his house a bit too. God, he loved that woman. She was all right with his consuming job and didn't mind taking care of the things he didn't have time for—namely, the house. They fit so well together. Both of them were loners by nature, so they didn't mind being apart so often. It just made the time they did share more special.

Inuyasha was just grabbing his keys when the radio DJ announced it was ten twenty-one. Inuyasha groaned as he turned the station off, praying he would avoid the cops. As if Starbucks needed any more publicity.

---

Miroku smiled politely, nodded where appropriate. Damn, this whole "kindness" thing had better pay off. Miss Momiji Itsuki, Arisa Higurashi's business partner, had been talking incessantly for the last ten minutes. After two Miroku had learned he detested the woman. Quite simply, she was annoying.

But this was also the reason Miroku had a minor in theater. In just these kinds of situations, Miroku could play himself off as though he cared for nothing more than the next words out of the woman's lips. Truly, the world was based on lies.

He had gleaned very little so far in his day. Miroku had arrived at Kyogoku Incorporated at seven o'clock and been immediately greeted by the pretty receptionist. Feeling it vital to interview her since Arisa saw her every day, Miroku failed to reach Arisa's desk until a half hour after she usually did. Perhaps he would leave that out of the report. He learned very little from the receptionist, whose name he had written down as Eshi Mizuki. He had no recollection of her actually saying her name. She told him that on the day in question Arisa had arrived and left in the cheery mood she was always in, and Eshi had noticed no strange behavior any time previous. Miroku insisted he might need to question her again, so her phone number made the conversation worth his time.

When Miroku had finally reached Arisa's desk, he found himself bored for quite some time. In the morning, Arisa seemed to find some quiet time to work as the company's most skilled paralegal. Another reason Miroku allowed Inuyasha to go to the college was because he would have no clue what a secretary was, much less a paralegal. He would stand around and look stupid while someone tried to have a political conversation with him. Did Inuyasha even know who was running in the elections? Did Inuyasha even _vote_? Miroku suspected his superior did nothing more than enjoy complaining about whoever majority chose.

Thinking about his superior reminded Miroku that Inuyasha did indeed need to wake up to go to the college. Since Miroku had kindly refrained from telling Inuyasha what he would be doing for the day, the subordinate would have to be a sufficient alarm clock. Miroku left Arisa's office and took her break time to make the call. If Inuyasha's cell phone didn't wake him up, they were in trouble. They had been out late the previous night, futilely searching for the gun that wasn't there. Whoever had killed Arisa still held the weapon in their possession.

Once Inuyasha had been thoroughly pestered and Arisa's break time used up, Miroku found himself forced back into that silent office. He considered blaring the radio, but decided that was too out of the ordinary for the systematic businessmen who resided in the building. Miroku was forced to content himself with waiting for something—anything.

About an hour after sitting around and aptly watching for any signs of human life, Satan pounced upon him using the alias of Momiji Itsuki. Momiji claimed to have had a business meeting set with Arisa this morning and was "deeply grieved" to hear about the death of her partner. In Miroku's experience, most people who were close to the victim tended to withdraw to themselves and be left alone for quite some time. In Momiji's case, however, the exact opposite seemed to be taking effect. Either she really didn't care that Arisa had died or she felt the need for a connection with someone and forgot how to shut her mouth. It was at this time that Miroku found himself using those amazing theater skills he had accumulated in college. Momiji seemed quite content to carry on a one-sided conversation with only a few nods on Miroku's part. Miroku would've been satisfied to throw her out the window, but he figured that wouldn't go over well with Sesshomaru when he put it in his report.

After half an hour of Momiji's incessant chatter, Miroku noticed her breathe, and so he took the opportunity to at least get something useful from what he would hardly call a conversation.

"Excuse me, but did you ever notice Arisa acting strange in the time preceding her death? Anything out of the ordinary would be very helpful to our—"

"Oh, but of course!" She had to talk so much she even interrupted him. "Well, as it were, we were having a business meeting, oh, I don't know, a week ago or so? Yes, well, we were sitting there talking about the Akatsuki case—oh, that's a horrible case where we represent the eldest son of the famous actor Akatsuki that passed away recently. There's been some misunderstanding in his will and we have to ensure our client gets what is rightly his, don't we? Oh, but yes, we were sitting in our little meeting like we always did and Arisa said the most odd thing, she said, 'Do you think we sometimes represent the wrong people? I mean, shouldn't we be able to say, "You're wrong and you don't deserve what you're trying to get. We won't represent you." I hate having to represent all of these people who are just trying to rip off other innocent little citizens of our country.' And of course I told her, I said, 'But if people don't represent them, they won't get their fair say.' And she, believe it or not, she said, 'But sometimes you just _know_ they're lying to get something they don't deserve.' And I assured her that we all need to be represented, and she said something now that I can't remember, but that was very strange, very odd indeed! I'd never ever heard her saying she wanted to deny someone representation. She was always about 'people's rights' and how people should be treated fairly. It was the most peculiar thing, really. Then this strange man came in, odd fellow he was, just barged inside the office and started shouting complete nonsense. Total babble, if you understand. He said, now listen here, he said Arisa had murdered his daughter! Most absurd thing, especially if you've ever known Arisa! Woman wouldn't have harmed a fly, just that one silly comment about representation, but usually she's quite the charming lady! So Arisa stands up and asks him to leave, of course, because we were trying to get things accomplished, and the man says, he says, 'You murdered my little girl! I'm gonna kill ya!' We had to call security and everything! My, it was quite exciting, but very unusual, you see. Not too many people get into this office at all because it's such a high class company, but for one to get in with the intent to kill! Oh, my, my heart was racing so fast it could've beaten a cheetah in the fifty meter dash! He didn't hurt anyone, of course; Arisa got to that phone before the man could even try to do anything, but _boy_ was he mad! Screaming all this nonsense about Arisa committing murder and him murdering her—really a very nasty business, you know. We get insanity cases all the time here, it's quite sad to think about it. Makes you wonder how the world is still as peaceful as it today. So many psychos talking about _murder_ and all this nonsense. Complete nonsense, you know. No one ever goes through with it, really, but they're putting the ideas in so many young folk's heads… the poor, poor little children! They won't know any better and what will happen if we're not careful? We'll corrupt them! Absolutely corrupt them! And when they've been corrupted, their poor little children will grow up the same way, and when will the world changers come? At the apocalypse, of course! But by then the world be on the brink of destruction, so it'll be too late! I mean, the world is such a clean, wonderful little place now, but if people like that man just waltz into respectable business offices like this one, well, it could be the end of mankind as we know it!"

Ah! She breathed! "Ms. Itsuki, could you describe this man for me and give me the names of the security officers that escorted him—?"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. Tall, dark man he was. Deep brown eyes, rather frightening looking, he was. Rather gaunt fellow, wouldn't you say? Oh, but of course you weren't there, you wouldn't know. Looked rather pale for a few moments, but then his face burned up when he started screaming! But yes, very dark man, with his eyes and hair, very tan, a little scruffy if I do say so myself. A real mess, with his clothes and his hygiene, so he can't have been allowed in. We have a dress code, you know! What would people think if they came in for business meetings and we were wearing jeans and a T-shirt! I mean, honestly, we have a reputation to uphold! We can't dress like slobs! It's a matter of _propriety_—"

Here, Miroku cut _her_ off, and took a hell of a lot of pleasure in doing so. "And the names of the officers?"

"Yes, I'm getting there, Mr. Watase! Let's see, let's see. I believe the Koishikawas were the ones on the scene, yes, yes, I remember now! Hiten and Manten Koishikawa. I remember them quite well, now, yes. They took him down in just a few moments, such good security guards they are. Do their rounds and everything. That's how security is _supposed_ to be. Never leaving an area unprotected, always ready for action, even at the most unlikely times in the most unusual places. _That's_ how things are supposed to be done! Why, back when I was still in school—"

Miroku had been ever so carefully maneuvering his hand into his pocket and taking out his cell phone, going to his settings and finding his ring tones. He picked the first one—any one would do—and hit play. Momiji started as "Ridin'" suddenly began playing, and Miroku took the opportunity to excuse himself, claiming he _had_ to take this call. The FBI agent was out of the room faster than his feet could catch up, and it caused him some trouble when he entered the hallway. Despite this, he failed to care about anything besides putting distance between himself and Momiji Itsuki.

After a few minutes, Miroku found solitude in a bathroom stall, pathetic as it was. It was the only place he knew—or dearly hoped—she would not look for him. He perused through his notepad, searching for the important information amidst the doodles he'd done under the desk. He'd scribbled something about Arisa's "strange remark," but his attention was drawn to the scenario after her comment. A man who had threatened murder… the difficulty of this case had just dropped significantly. The lead, however difficult to get, was a promising one. He could only hope that Inuyasha was as lucky as himself.

"Mr. Watase? Are you _in_ here? I thought we had more to discuss! It's not polite to leave a lady waiting, or don't you know? The young people nowadays! What was I just saying about people corrupting the young children—?"

Or not.

---

Meh, sorry for all the delays, guys. I've been writing this chapter over a period of… well, forever. But now it's finally done, so I hope you found it enjoyable.

For those of you wondering where the fluff is, no worries. It's coming… coming… sometime…. ; )

Next chapter will end up being Inuyasha at Shikon University. Past that, my fingers will tell me.

Thankx for reading, but since you've bothered to read it, take a moment (or several, since long reviews rock) to review it and tell me your opinions. Thankx again!

Riles


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